A Minnesota couple cheated health insurers out of $15 million with an avalanche of overbillings for mental health therapy and used some of the money to buy a suburban Twin Cities mansion, according to federal charges unsealed Thursday.
Gabriel Luthor, 39, and Elizabeth Christine Brown, 42, were each charged in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis with six counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with the scheme to defraud Medicare, Medicaid and other insurers dating back to 2018.
In total, Luthor and Brown "submitted hundreds of thousands of false claims to insurers, many of which the insurers paid, resulting in an estimated loss of over $15 million," a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office read.
Luthor and Brown, of Eden Prairie, both have court appearances scheduled for April 30. Court records do not list an attorney for either.
Prosecutors say the couple ran their scheme while operating clinics in Nevada, Oklahoma, Kansas and Florida.
"Minnesota has a fraud problem," Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said in a statement. "This case is yet another example of defendants defrauding government programs out of millions."
Property records show the couple's 9,000-square-foot home included an indoor basketball court, a dry sauna, a four-car garage and eight bathrooms. It is now owned by a limited liability company based in Brooklyn Park, according to property records.
According to the indictment and related court documents, the couple ran their scheme through Las Vegas-based Golden Victory Medical (GVM). One of the main services GVM claimed to provide was neurofeedback therapy, which involves placing sensors on a patient's scalp to collect images of brain waves for mental health treatment.
The fraud involved Luthor and Brown using medical billing codes that did not apply to neurofeedback services, despite warnings from insurers, an outside auditor, and the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The ill-gotten gains were transferred from bank account to bank account, according to the charges. They used the funds to buy a mansion in Eden Prairie and to pay their living expenses and those of two other girlfriends of Luthor's, who lived with Luthor and Brown and assisted in the fraud scheme.
So far, Luthor and Brown are the only defendants in connection with the scheme.
By late 2022, "mounting fraud accusations ground GVM's business to a halt," the indictment read.
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