Man Charged With 13 Counts of Insurance Fraud
WOBURN – A local man has been charged with insurance fraud for billing for more than $30,000 in acupuncture and other services he did not provide through businesses he operated in Lowell and Medford, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan informed the public today.
Yongshuo Qu, 45, who reportedly resides in both Medford and Hudson, NH, has been charged with insurance fraud (13 counts) and attempted larceny (7 counts). He was indicted by a Middlesex Grand Jury and arraigned December 19 in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn. Clerk Magistrate Michael Sullivan released him on personal recognizance with conditions that he surrender his passport and he stay away from and have no contact with victims, witnesses or colleagues.
His next court date is January 30 for a pre-trial hearing.
“This defendant allegedly filed hundreds of fake insurance claims in an attempt to be paid for work or services that he did not do,” District Attorney Ryan said. “This type of fraud and abuse of the system costs everyone money. We commend the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau for their work in pursuing this matter and thank them for their collaboration with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.”
According to authorities, the defendant is a licensed acupuncturist and resident agent for two businesses, HealthLand LLC in Lowell and Back2Balance in Boston. He advertises services of “Acupuncture, Massage, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Chinese Herbal Medicine and Chi Gong Therapy.” The defendant is not and does not employ a licensed chiropractor or physical therapist at either location, nor does he employ a separate massage therapist. The defendant also provided services out of an office attached to his Medford home.
Between March 2008 and April 2012, the defendant allegedly submitted insurance claims in an attempt to be paid by insurance companies for services he did not provide. Although the defendant would provide some services to the victims, such as massage treatments, he would bill insurance companies for dozens of additional treatments, including additional massages and two different types of acupuncture therapy, which had not been provided to the client. In several instances, he billed insurance companies for work performed by unlicensed practitioners as if he had performed those treatments himself. For the 13 identified patients, the defendant is alleged to have fraudulently billed $30,145 to various insurance companies.
The case was investigated by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant District Attorney Kristen Noto.