LOS ANGELES – A dockworker on the Port of Lengthy Seaside pleaded responsible at present to collaborating in a scheme that submitted fraudulent payments to his labor union’s medical insurance plan for sexual companies or for bodily remedy that by no means was supplied.
Cameron Rahm, 39, of Pico Rivera, pleaded responsible to 1 rely of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud.
Based on his plea settlement, Rahm obtained sexual companies from ladies employed at three companies: Again to Life Wellness Middle LLC and The Chiroman Wellness Middle – each primarily based in San Pedro – and the Wilmington-based Waterfront Wellness Middle Inc. These corporations provided sufferers chiropractic companies and acupuncture therapies, along with sexual companies.
In trade for receiving sexual companies, Rahm licensed the conspiracy’s chief – Sara Victoria, 46, of San Pedro – to submit false claims to Rahm’s well being plan run by his union, the Worldwide Longshore and Warehouse Union – Pacific Maritime Affiliation. The ILWU-PMA profit plan supplied protection for chiropractic companies and customarily lined the entire value with no deductible and with out requiring plan members receiving the companies to contribute any copay quantity or incur another out-of-pocket prices.
From January 2017 to April 2021, Rahm licensed Victoria to submit false claims to the union’s well being profit plan beneath the title of his spouse, who was a plan beneficiary. Rahm’s false and fraudulent claims that Victoria submitted to the ILWU-PMA plan have been for companies that weren’t really rendered, together with chiropractic and bodily remedy companies.
Rahm additionally requested $240 in money monthly from Victoria in trade for his authorization for Victoria to submit extra false claims for reimbursement to the ILWU-PMA plan for companies not rendered utilizing his and his spouse’s insurance coverage info.
Victoria, aided and abetted by Rahm, submitted roughly $178,495 in fraudulent claims to the ILWU-PMA plan for companies purportedly rendered to Rahm’s spouse, for which for which the plan paid roughly $30,243.
United States District Decide Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. scheduled an April 25 sentencing listening to, at which period Rahm will face a statutory most sentence of 10 years in federal jail.
In December 2022, Victoria pleaded responsible to 1 rely of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud and one rely of aggravated id theft. In complete, Victoria submitted roughly $2,110,920 in claims to the ILWU-PMA plan, for which the plan paid roughly $551,810. Her sentencing listening to is scheduled for April 14.
4 different dockworkers on the Port of Lengthy Seaside pleaded responsible to 1 felony rely of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud and resist 10 years in federal jail at their sentencing hearings:
- Rodolpho Bojorquez, 68, of Carson, who’s to be sentenced on April 11;
- Cesar Delgadillo, 49, of Wilmington, who has a January 31 sentencing date;
- Joel Lizarraga, 55, of Palmdale, whose sentencing listening to is scheduled for February 28; and
- Simon Ramirez, 50, of Wilmington, who’s scheduled for sentencing on January 24.
Three extra defendants – additionally dockworkers on the Port of Lengthy Seaside – every pleaded responsible to 1 misdemeanor rely of theft in reference to well being care. Every defendant faces a statutory most sentence of 1 12 months in federal jail:
- Clifford Hopson, 65, of the Willowbrook space of South Los Angeles, who’s scheduled for sentencing on January 24;
- Rogelio Martinez, 53, of Torrance, whose sentencing listening to is scheduled for February 14; and
- Lawrence Robles, 42, of San Pedro, who’s to be sentenced on February 28.
The FBI and the USA Division of Labor – Worker Advantages Safety Administration investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Legal professional Jason C. Pang of the Main Frauds Part is prosecuting this case.