Pensacola Chiropractor Sentenced in Insurance Fraud
More than six years in prison and 10 years probation was the sentence handed down to a Pensacola chiropractor who was discovered pressuring patients to overstate their injuries in order to receive large insurance settlements, according to a news release from the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Dr. Russell Dominick, 54, was found guilty of racketeering and grand theft after a clandestine operation exposed his deceptive scheme. An undercover officer posing as a patient was encouraged by Dominick to exaggerate injuries in order to inflate the payment received by insurance.
The Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud began to covertly look into the issue after it received a complaint about Dr. Dominick. Similar experiences were then reported by other patients who also received advice from Dr. Dominick to embellish their injuries.
“Insurance fraud places a financial strain on hard-working Floridians through increased insurance premiums,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. “I am extremely proud of our investigators for working so diligently with our law enforcement partners to put an end to this illegal operation.”
Dominick was arrested by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Department of Health assisted with the investigation. The State Attorney’s Office for the First Judicial Circuit prosecuted the case.