A Queens man has been found guilty by a federal jury of health care fraud, in a scheme that netted him hundreds of thousands of dollars through bogus billing. Chang Goo Yoon, standing 61 years tall and a South Korean national, will face sentencing come May after his seven-day trial wrapped up in Boston.
Yoon was charged back in February 2021, after which a grand jury formally indicted him three months later. He managed to falsely bill for phantom physical therapy sessions, some while traveling abroad or quite literally gambling away in casinos. This is according to a statement obtained by the United States Attorney's Office in Massachusetts.
"This was above stealing and greed, pure and simple. Mr. Yoon exploited our healthcare system, and billed for fictitious treatments on dates that he was traveling abroad or holed up in a casino," said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy in a statement released by his office. The interwoven network of deceit spun by Yoon includes $150,000 in claims fraudulently billed while he was jet-setting to locales like South Korea and Toronto, or hitting the slots at such venues as the Golden Nugget and MGM Springfield.
The elaborate sham didn't stop at trips and chips; around $30,000 in bogus claims were made by Yoon post car accidents. He went to the unethical extent to either list an employee as the servicing therapist or to boldly list himself as both the patient and therapist, the Justice Department release details. Acts of fraud like these, as pointed out by authorities, push health care costs higher for everyone – a financial pinch that eventually reaches the consumer.
For his hand in this deceitful pot, Yoon could potentially face a sentence of up to 10 years behind bars, along with three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. These penalties are doled not arbitrarily but in accordance with the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, leaving the final call to the federal district court judge. The prosecution efforts were led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elysa Q. Wan and Patrick M. Callahan of the Criminal Division, a fact relayed by the powers that be from the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.
