Woman sentenced to 8 years for California medical fraud

Morrow and her spouse, David Morrow, ran The Morrow Institute, a surgical clinic in Rancho Mirage in the California desert near Palm Springs.

Prosecutors stated that between 2007 and 2011, the Morrows billed coverage providers for processes that had been mentioned as “medically required” but in reality have been basically beauty.

Tummy tucks were being listed on paperwork as hernia maintenance or stomach reconstruction, authorities said. Nose employment were being recorded as correcting a deviated septum. Breast employment ended up supposedly to repair a “tuberous breast deformity.”

The situation that concerned recruiting patients — quite a few of them general public employees — with excellent insurance plan insurance policies they could exploit.

Clients had been promised totally free liposuction, nose employment, breast augmentation and vaginal rejuvenation for totally free if they served fudge the paperwork by signing “testimonial” letters or declarations with bogus statements.

Though big insurers this sort of as Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Cigna Health Insurance were shown as victims, community school districts ended up defrauded of more than $15 million, prosecutors claimed.

The Morrows fled the region in 2017 subsequent their indictments but have been later on arrested in Israel and deported.

David Morrow, 77, currently serving a 20-12 months prison sentence. He was stripped of his license as a plastic surgeon.