Greenville man pleads guilty to health-care fraud

PITTSBURGH -- John Ray Derbonne, 45, of 460 Rutledge Road, Greenville, pleaded guilty to one count of health-care fraud before U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti.
In connection with the guilty plea, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nelson P. Cohen advised the court that Derbonne was a Pennsylvania chiropractor formerly employed by Detelich Chiropractic and its successor company, Advanced Medical and Holistic of Hermitage, P.C.
From October 1996 to May 2002, Derbonne and others executed a scheme to defraud health-care benefits programs, namely Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, according to Cohen.
He said the scheme involved submitting false invoices to Highmark and DPW for chiropractic treatment to patients that was never performed. In addition, the scheme involved submitting invoices for more complex chiropractic treatment than was performed.
Derbonne will be sentenced Aug. 6.