PODIATRIST CHARGED WITH INSURANCE FRAUD FOR BILLING SEVERAL PATIENTS FOR MEDICAL SERVICES NEVER PERFORMED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Case # 18CF0201


Date: January 23, 2018

PODIATRIST CHARGED WITH INSURANCE FRAUD FOR BILLING SEVERAL PATIENTS FOR MEDICAL SERVICES NEVER PERFORMED

*Defendant is currently awaiting extradition from Oregon

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A podiatrist was charged with insurance fraud for billing several patients for medical services she never performed.

Defendant

Charges

Maximum Sentence

Court Date

Renae Louise Witt, 47, La Pine, Oregon

Charged on Jan. 16, 2018, with the following felony counts:

  • (7) Insurance Fraud

Sentencing Enhancements

  • Aggravated white collar crime over $100,000
  • Loss over $65,000

16 years in state prison

Arraignment

 

Jan. 24, 2018, 1:30 p.m.

 

Department C-55, Central Justice Center

 

 Circumstances of the Case

  • At the time of the crimes, Witt was a podiatrist practicing in Tustin.
  • Between May 12, 2015, and March 31, 2017, the defendant is accused of submitting fraudulent billing for services not rendered on six patients after their treatment was complete.
  • Witt is accused of billing Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Cross / Blue Shield a total of $174,395 for various medical services she never performed and depositing large sums of money into her business bank account.
  • On Nov. 6, 2017, the defendant moved from Orange County to Oregon.
  • Anthem Blue Cross contacted the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, who investigated this case, to report potentially fraudulent billing by the defendant.
  • On Jan. 19, 2018, deputies from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Department arrested Witt in La Pine, where she is currently awaiting extradition.

Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Hope Callahan, Insurance Fraud Unit