| For Immediate Release Case # 08ZF0025 August 16, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED FOR INVOLVEMENT IN $154 MILLION MEDICAL INSURANCE FRAUD SCHEME
SANTA ANA – An accountant was convicted and sentenced today for his role in the largest medical fraud prosecution in the nation for recruiting thousands of healthy patients to undergo unnecessary and dangerous surgeries to fraudulently bill medical insurance companies.
Andrew Robert Harnen, 59, Rosemead, Unity’s accountant, pleaded guilty to the court today to two felony counts of conspiracy, eight felony counts of capping or paying for patient referrals, 30 felony counts of grand theft, 30 felony counts of insurance fraud, 30 felony counts of making false and fraudulent claims, one felony count of filing a false tax return, and white collar crime sentencing enhancements for taking over $2.5 million. Harnen was sentenced today to five years and four months in prison. The People advocated for a sentence of 41 years and eight months in state prison. The sentence will be served concurrent to the sentence he received Dec. 20, 2012. The defendant was previously sentenced to prison and ordered $904,780 restitution for his Nov. 26, 2012, conviction by a jury of three felony counts of filing a false tax return and six counts of failing to file tax returns. Harnen is scheduled to appear for a hearing to determine the amount of restitution he must repay victim insurance companies on Dec. 6, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Co-Defendants
Roy Chester Dickson, 65, Yorba Linda, Unity’s attorney, is charged with two felony counts of conspiracy, eight felony counts of capping or paying for referrals, 30 felony counts of grand theft, 30 counts of insurance fraud, 30 felony counts of making false and fraudulent claims, one felony count of money laundering, and white collar crime sentencing enhancements for taking over $2.5 million. If convicted, Dickson faces a minimum sentence of 55 years in state prison. He is out of custody on $100,000 bail and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Aug. 30, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center. Dickson was found guilty by a jury Nov. 26, 2012, of two felony counts of filing a false personal tax return and was sentenced Dec. 20, 2012, to two years and eight months in state prison and $41,629 restitution on the tax conviction.
Doctor Mario Rosenberg, 65, is charged with 49 felony counts including two counts of conspiracy, eight counts of capping or paying for referrals, 19 counts of insurance fraud, 19 counts of making false or fraudulent claims, and one count of grand theft. If convicted, Rosenberg faces a minimum sentence of 55 years in state prison. Rosenberg is out of custody on $1 million bail and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Aug. 30, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center.
Doctor William Wilson Hampton, Jr., 57, Seal Beach, pleaded guilty May 8, 2009, to 47 felony counts including conspiracy, insurance fraud, and capping and was sentenced to 16 years in state prison.
Doctor Michael Cheeluen Chan, 67, Cerritos, pleaded guilty Aug. 4, 2011, to the court to 40 felony counts including conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, insurance fraud, aiding and abetting capping with white collar crime sentencing enhancements. He faces a sentence ranging from probation up to 28 years in state prison at his sentencing Dec. 6, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center.