By Jim Patten
Staff Writer
April 16, 2008 09:32 am SALEM — A Haverhill chiropractor charged in the ongoing auto insurance fraud probe can't be faulted for what his clients do, his lawyer said. Dr. Troy Wheelwright, 40, of Amesbury pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges at his arraignment in Salem Superior Court yesterday. He is the owner of Haverhill Family Chiropractic at 606 Broadway in Haverhill. The state attorney general's office alleges Wheelwright participated in the auto fraud scheme by treating people involved in staged car accidents and then submitting false insurance claims for money. Wheelwright wouldn't comment, but his lawyer Paul Cirel did, praising his client's work. "Dr. Wheelwright can't be expected to know what's in the minds of people who come to him for treatment," Cirel said. "My client will be exonerated." Wheelwright was indicted earlier this month along with a North Andover chiropractor, two local lawyers and three other men. They are: Andover attorney James Hyde, 56, of Boxford; Michael Kaplan, 46, of Hampstead, N.H., operator of Kaplan Chiropractic, 200 Sutton St., North Andover; Omar Castillo, 35, of Methuen, a runner and former van driver for Kaplan; and Josue Jerez, 28, of Lawrence. Those men are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Salem Superior Court. Prominent Lawrence lawyer Socrates De La Cruz, 34, of Methuen, also was indicted and is scheduled to be arraigned in Salem Superior Court on Friday. Leo Lopez, 28, of Lawrence, also named in the indictment, was arraigned last week. This marks the second time that a special grand jury investigating auto insurance fraud in the Greater Lawrence area has returned indictments. In September 2004, a grand jury initiated by District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett culminated in the indictments of 16 people — including three lawyers and four chiropractors — who were charged with being part of a Lawrence-based "network of fraud" that helped drive up auto insurance rates across the state. That probe focused on a cottage industry of crime where middlemen known as "runners" get paid to steer accident victims to lawyers and chiropractors for cash. Both grand jury probes were prompted by the ongoing crackdown on auto insurance fraud in the wake of the September 2003 death of a 65-year-old great-grandmother from Lawrence, who died in a staged crash that police said she helped plan to scam insurance companies. Wheelwright was indicted on two counts of making a false motor vehicle insurance claim, two counts of larceny over $250, two counts of attempting to commit a crime, and four counts of conspiracy. The latest indictments stem from an investigation initiated more than 18 months ago by the attorney general's office, working with detectives of the city's auto insurance fraud task force and investigators of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts. That investigation focused on four separate staged crashes that occurred between October 2002 and February 2003. Because he surrendered his passport, Wheelwright will remain free until his trial and must appear at Lawrence police station to be booked on the charges. Judge David Lowy also warned Wheelwright if he failed to comply with any of the conditions of his release or committed another crime while his case was pending, he could be held in jail without bail for up to 60 days. Lawrence police Chief John Romero said yesterday that information developed during the multiple auto insurance fraud investigations showed that in 2003 there were 23 chiropractic offices in Lawrence that together billed insurance companies for $8 million, but by 2007, there were only four chiropractic offices that together billed insurers $700,000. "One would have to think the efforts of the task force certainly had a significant impact on chiropractic services in Lawrence," said Romero, who assembled the special task force after the September 2003 death of Altagracia Arias, who had been soliciting participants for a staged crash just hours before her death. "That statistic shows that what we were able to expose was just the tip of the iceberg; that's why the investigations will continue," he said. He said speaking generally, that in insurance fraud cases, the people who stand to make the most money are the medical and legal professionals. "There are many fine chiropractors and lawyers who are a credit to their professions. In the course of a continual four-year investigation into insurance fraud, there are some who are not," Romero said. Two Lawrence lawyers — Charles Lonardo and Jorge Elias — and Lawrence Back & Neck chiropractor Alan Cohen have all served jail sentences after their convictions of auto insurance fraud-related charges.
—
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.