Six people from Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are facing federal charges over an alleged scheme that ran for 15 years, billing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois for psychotherapy sessions that prosecutors say never actually happened. An indictment returned this past Monday accuses the group of submitting fraudulent claims tied to a counseling center that allegedly collected millions from the insurer for treatment that was never provided.
Federal prosecutors announced the charges this week, saying the six defendants are accused of running a scheme that billed Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois for nonexistent psychotherapy sessions, according to inkl.com. The indictment alleges the scheme ran from 2010 to 2025 and involved at least $19 million in fraudulent claims, which led the insurer to pay more than $4.8 million to All Types Counseling Services, per the same account. All six defendants are charged with health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud, charges that carry up to 10 years in federal prison, as detailed by Medical Daily.
Who's Named in the Indictment
Brenda Copeland, 64, of Country Club Hills, founded and ran All Types Counseling Services, a licensed substance abuse treatment clinic with offices in Chicago's southwest suburbs that purportedly treated conditions including depression and addiction, per Medical Daily's reporting. Samuel Carlson, 69, also of Country Club Hills, served as the clinic's office manager. The two allegedly submitted claims for therapy that was never provided, according to the same report.
Four other people are charged as purported patients: Henry Saldarriaga-Ochoa, 37, of Berwyn; Herbert “Randy” Foster, 59, of Flossmoor; Joseph Iraci, 51, of New Lenox; and Anthony Gessert, 42, of Oak Lawn. Prosecutors allege these purported patients provided their health insurance information to Copeland and Carlson and in turn allegedly received a share of the insurer's payments. Some of the purported patients allegedly recruited others to pose as patients for similar payouts, Medical Daily reports.
Alleged Cover-Up During an Insurer Audit
The defendants allegedly created false records in response to an audit by the insurer, according to Medical Daily's account of the indictment. The Northern District of Illinois announcement described the indictment as alleging that the counseling center's owner, office manager Samuel Carlson and four purported patients submitted false and fraudulent claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois for nonexistent psychotherapy services, per justice.gov. As with any indictment, the defendants are presumed innocent, and prosecutors noted that an indictment is not evidence of guilt, inkl.com reports. Arraignments had not been scheduled as of the announcement.
The case announcement involved several federal agencies, including the FBI's Chicago field office, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General, and the Chicago regional office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, which oversees private-sector employer-sponsored health plans, according to Medical Daily. Ali Khawar said in 2022 that healthcare fraud erodes public trust and raises the cost of health insurance for all Americans, a sentiment included in the outlet's coverage of the case.
A Pattern Beyond One Suburban Clinic
This case fits into a broader pattern of behavioral-health billing fraud that federal investigators have flagged in recent years. A Department of Justice investigation announced in June charged 455 defendants nationwide, including 39 cases tied to behavioral health, addiction treatment and autism therapy providers, with suspected fraudulent payments totaling at least $208.4 million, according to Behavioral Health Business. That outlet noted many of those cases remain active, with litigation pending and no organization or provider found guilty at the time of publication.
One of the largest cases in that sweep involved ODA Solutions, a methadone clinic in Oak Lawn, Illinois, whose founder and CEO allegedly billed Medicaid for more than $92.3 million and received approximately $75.2 million, Behavioral Health Business reported. In that case, the CEO allegedly instructed others to falsify medical records and bill for services that were never provided, including services attributed to deceased individuals. Separately, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois charged Rajesh “Raj” Patel in an alleged $66.2 million scheme involving COVID-19 tests that were never performed, according to the Department of Justice.
The Scale of Health Care Fraud
The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association says financial losses from health care fraud run into the tens of billions of dollars every year, and the group has identified billing for services that were never rendered and falsifying a patient's diagnosis and medical record as common forms of the problem. Large employers often self-fund their health plans, paying claims from company and worker contributions, and may purchase so-called stop-loss insurance to help cover high-cost claims, according to Mass.gov. False claims like those alleged in the Illinois case can drain money intended for real care from those self-funded plans.
Medical Daily's reporting notes that insurance information misuse can result in visits or diagnoses appearing on a person's record despite the services never having occurred. The outlet advises patients to check their explanation of benefits against appointment dates and provider names, and to report claims for services they did not receive to their insurer's member services number. People should also refuse cash or gifts offered in exchange for sharing insurance details or signing in for unattended appointments, and those with concerns about how their information was used can contact Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois directly. Medical Daily adds that people receiving real counseling elsewhere should continue their care, since the indictment does not involve other providers, and the outlet says it plans to follow the case for pleas, trial dates, and any statement from the insurer.
