Record $830K returned to Ohio BWC after insurance fraud conviction

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has received a record $830,000 in restitution from an Akron area anesthesiologist five years after his conviction in an insurance fraud case that captured national attention and sent him to prison for life.

Dr. Jorge Martinez was convicted in 2006 on 56 criminal counts stemming from a wide reaching health-care fraud investigation that was featured on CNBC’s "American Greed" and found he submitted $60 million in fraudulent claims to BWC, Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers.

The case resulted in the first known conviction involving a criminal charge of health-care fraud resulting in death after the overdose of two patients seeking treatment for work-related injuries, said Steve Buehrer, bureau administrator.

The joint investigation included BWC, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration and several private insurers.

Martinez still owes BWC $5 million.