A former Orange County chiropractor, Susan H. Poon, 57, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for stealing from health insurers by fraudulently causing the submission of $2.2 million in billings for chiropractic services never provided, medical diagnoses never given, office visits that never occurred, and medical devices that were falsely prescribed. She was also ordered to pay $1,379,622 in restitution to her victims. From January 2015 to April 2018, Poon, whose office was in Rancho Santa Margarita, schemed to defraud health insurance companies by submitting false reimbursement claims for services that were never performed. Poon also submitted fraudulent prescriptions containing medical diagnoses of individuals that she had never met, including toddlers and children, which led a medical device manufacturer to submit false claims for reimbursement to one health insurer. The patients that Poon claimed to have met with and treated were dependents — such as the spouses and children — of Costco Wholesale Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. employees. Poon unlawfully took and used the dependent’s personal identifying information (PII) in her reimbursement requests and prescriptions. Poon obtained the PII by attending health fairs at various UPS warehouses and Costco locations and soliciting such information from employees.
