Mom, Daughter Plead Guilty in Case of Bogus 'Therapy' Bills

New York, NY (CompNewsNetwork) - A mother and daughter who run a Long Island physical and massage therapy business have pleaded guilty in connection with billing the New York State Insurance Fund for services they were neither licensed to perform nor ever rendered.

Nancy Comple, 60, and her daughter, Kristin Comple, 37, both of Babylon, NY, were arrested last February after detectives from the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office went undercover during an investigation of B-Well Physical Therapy and Massage, at 13 S. Carl Avenue in Babylon, which is owned by the two woman.

The pair originally faced charges of felony fraudulent practices in connection with violating the New York State Workers' Compensation Law in the bill rigging scheme.

They both pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted fraudulent practices and were sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge on October 1, 2008. They also were ordered to pay NYSIF $1,089 in restitution.

Investigators said the two owners billed NYSIF for physical therapy treatments that were never performed. The pair was arrested after investigators from Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota's Office executed search warrants and removed billings records from B-Well, revealing evidence of treatments for message therapies that were instead billed to NYSIF as physical therapy at a high rate of compensation.

Authorities said Kristin Comple is a licensed massage therapist. At the time of their arrest, neither she nor her mother was licensed to perform physical therapy.

NYSIF's Division of Confidential Investigations conducted the initial investigation in cooperation with the New York State Insurance Department Frauds Bureau and the Workers' Compensation Board Fraud Inspector General's Office.

“Be it premium, billing or claimant fraud, the New York State Insurance Fund investigates all types of workers' compensation fraud against NYSIF with assistance from law enforcement authorities who understand the serious implications that fraudulent practices have on the economy, on honest businesses, on consumers and on the workers' compensation system.” NYSIF Executive Director David P. Wehner said.

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