CA: Largest Attorney Bust in Orange County History

Santa Ana, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) – It’s big.

The Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) busted ten attorneys and six others for felony charges in a one of the most “massive workers’ compensation-referral scheme(s),” in the history of the division, according to the OCDA, which made the news public this week.

The first phase of a 3-year insurance fraud investigation between the district attorney’s office and California Department of Insurance (CDI) Insurance Fraud Unit is detailed in the document Phase 1 Charges provided by the OCDA.

The fraud ring run by Carlos Arguello III, 35, of Tustin; and Edgar Gonzalez, 50, of Anaheim; reportedly subjugated residents in mostly Spanish-speaking societies, which resulted in a reported estimated $300 million-plus of insurance payouts involving up to 33,000 patients.

The alleged Cappers are Boris Mikhayovich Dadiomov, 31, of San Diego; Soraida Veronica Castro, 42, Imperial Beach; Tania Arguello-Plasencia, 31, Tustin; and Dulce Gallegos, 30, San Ysidro. According to the OCDA, the Cappers distributed “flyers and business cards in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods, businesses, swap meets, and the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Per the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a Capper is, “…a lure or decoy especially in an illicit or questionable activity.”

“Cappers are further accused of publishing advertisements in Spanish-language publications and using misleading websites offering legal services, including iwantmylawyernow.com, instantlawyeraccess.com, centrodeabogadosinternacional.com, uniondeabogadoslatinos.com, and unitedinjuryattorneys.com,” reads the press release, adding each website and ad offered a free discussion through a toll-free number or internet consultation form.

The attorneys involved are accused of permitting Cappers “to order, prepare, and submit documents on behalf of the attorney without attorney oversight or approval in violation of law,” according to the release.

Attorneys include Jon Woods, 56, Cypress; Payman Zargari, 49, Sherman Oaks; John Jansen, 49, Santa Ana; Fari Rezai, 39, Irvine; Lionel Eduardo Giron, 49, Pomona; Dennis Ralph Fusi, 73, Lakewood; Jorge Humberto Reyes, 39, Los Angeles; Rony M Barsoum, 43, Los Angeles; Robert Irving Slater, 67, Encino; and Robin Jacobs, 52, Sherman Oaks; all of whom will face up to the maximum sentence of seven years to 25 years plus in state prison.

“On the medical provider side, individual medical providers are under investigation for paying for patients recruited by the Cappers, and then prescribing durable medical equipment and pharmaceutical goods through vendors, and referring diagnostic imaging requests to companies chosen by the Cappers,” according to the release.

According to the OCDA, the office was tipped off by a chief insurance carrier in 2014 and began an inquiry that followed a 2005 investigation of Arguello, who was suspect in creating advertising company Centro Legal Internacional to attain “unlawful referral contracts with 20 to 40 workers' compensation insurance and personal injury attorneys.”

Per the press release, Arguello is accused of both “requiring all participating attorneys to sign annual contracts for his “joint advertising program” and of “creating contracts that specified a monthly fee and named the marketing service provider” possessed by Arguello and the Cappers.

When contacted, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office declined to comment due to the investigation's status as ongoing. However, esquire Marc G. Marcus, past president of the California Applicants' Attorneys Association (CAAA), said via email if the alleged “are guilty as charged, I say good riddance.”

Furthermore, the OCDA reports that defendants and Cappers Tania Arguello Plasencia, Boris Mikhayovich Dadiomov, Soraida Veronica Castro and Dulce Gallegos “of working and capping for Arguello,” according to the press release, further noting “Arguello and Gonzalez are accused of being the masterminds behind the unlawful referral network.”

“The defendant attorneys in this case are accused of paying a monthly fee for the Cappers to procure and deliver an agreed upon minimum number of retained clients per month,” according to the release.

“These types of schemes hurt us and our clients," Marcus said. "Yesterday our organization, California Applicants’ Attorneys Association (CAAA) issued the following statement..." saying it strongly condemns running and capping and all of the behaviors alleged in the complaint. 

“Any attorney found guilty of participating and profiting from fraud should get what they’ve got coming. Every dollar fraudulently taken from the system is a dollar that should go to pay for legitimate claims,” according to the CAAA, adding they available for aid in the matter. “We want to help. We think we have the expertise to address the problem, but the employers have made little effort to enlist our assistance.”

The OCDA also had assistance from Deputy District Attorney Noor Hasan with the Insurance Fraud Unit. And the investigation is not over, according to the district attorney’s office.

“As there will be other phases, the OCDA and CDI will not be providing further details at this time,” according to the release.

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This story was updated as of 06/07/17.

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