FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 11, 2007
CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264
MECKLENBURG COUNTY CHIROPRACTOR TO SERVE FEDERAL PRISON SENTENCE
Cornelius Chiropractor Sentenced for Health Care & Bank Frauds and Money Laundering CHARLOTTE, NC - Mark S. Cox, 44, of Cornelius, NC, has been sentenced in federal court for health care fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering in connection with his businesses,
Diagnostic Testing Services, Inc., Southeast Medical Management, Inc., and Total Care Family Health Center, all located in Mecklenburg County. On Tuesday, July 10, Cox was sentenced to serve two years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Graham C. Mullen. In 2005 Cox pled
guilty to having submitted more than $360,000 in false health care-related claims, and for laundering the proceeds he derived from that health care fraud. The health care fraud took place when Cox, through his business, Diagnostic Testing Services, Inc., submitted false claims to
health insurance companies of diagnostic tests which were allegedly interpreted by a medical doctor, when, in fact, no medical doctor was involved in any part of the testing services. In addition, Cox entered a guilty plea for his participation in a $2 million fraud on Wachovia Bank
wherein Cox made materially false statements to the bank on loan application papers, all of which would have adversely affected the bank’s decision to issue the loan. Under the terms of his plea agreement, which was entered on April 8, 2005, Cox was also required to forfeit his chiropractic license, and will not be eligible for reinstatement during the entire term of his federal sentence. Additionally, Cox was required to issue a full, written, public statement which acknowledged the nature and extent of his criminal conduct. Cox was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine, to pay restitution to Wachovia Ban and several insurance companies in the amount of $1.4 million, and an additional $1.4 million has been ordered forfeited to the government.
Two other individuals, John Piedmonte and Michael Hartness who associated with Cox and his Medical/Chiropractic clinics, have already been sentenced. United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert stated, “Cox’s sentencing brings to a close another sordid chapter in the book on billing fraud by North Carolina medical practitioners.”
“Given the rising cost for health care in this country, the citizens cannot afford to have medical practitioners line their pockets by over-billing and other fraudulent practices,” Shappert continued. “We will be vigilant in our efforts to curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the area of health care, and will not hesitate to prosecute those who are responsible for the health and welfare of our constituents when greed leads them to abuse their positions of trust.”
United States Attorney Shappert congratulated the investigative team, comprised of agents from the North Carolina Department of Insurance, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, for their dogged perseverance in investigating this complex health care fraud case. The prosecution was handled for the government by Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Brown, of the Charlotte U.S. Attorney’s Office.