Former Kansas City cop pleads guilty in insurance fraud scheme

Todd Graves, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, reported that a former Kansas City, Mo., police officer pleaded guilty in federal court recently to a scheme to collect insurance on a fraudulent stolen car claim.

Michael J. Galley, 37, of Kansas City, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner to a federal information that charges him with mail fraud. Galley was an officer with the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department at the time of the offense.

Galley, in his guilty plea reportedly admitted that he defrauded Progressive Insurance Company between March and June 21, 2004, by falsely claiming that his car was stolen.

Galley caused his 2004 Dodge Intrepid to be driven to Kansas City, Kan., and destroyed, then submitted a false claim on April 27, 2004. As part of the scheme, Galley mailed an affidavit stating the basis for his claim on May 2, 2004, causing a loss of approximately $18,000.

Under federal statutes, Galley could be subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Ohio governor’s ethics conviction listed top story in 2005

Governor Bob Taft’s lowest point, a conviction on ethics charges, topped the list of the state’s most noteworthy stories of 2005 according to the Associated Press story.

Taft, serving his second four-year term, pleaded no contest in August to failing to report 52 gifts worth nearly $6,000 that he received over four years. Franklin County Municipal Judge Mark Froehlich found him guilty, fined him $4,000 and ordered him to send e-mail messages to Ohio newspapers and state employees apologizing for his behavior.

Taft, who had declared high ethical standards a hallmark of his administration and had fired subordinates for ethics violations, immediately said he would not resign.

“I will continue to do the job to which I have been elected by the people of the state of Ohio,” Taft said in AP story.

An recent poll showed Taft’s approval rating at 15 percent. Time Magazine in a recent issue named him one of the country’s three worst governors.

Healthcare fraud is a family affair

A Des Moines doctor and his brother are accused of health care fraud for allegedly seeking reimbursement on medical procedures that were unnecessary or not performed. Dr. Peter Boesen, 45, and his brother, James Boesen, 48, are charged in a 57-count federal indictment relating to their practices at a Des Moines ear, throat and nose clinic.

James Boesen, who’s job at the clinic included billing insurance companies, is accused of conspiring with his brother to seek inflated reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa.

The lawsuit alleges the Boesens falsified patient notes and submitted inaccurate claims to receive more money.

If convicted, the brothers may forfeit $373,000-the amount they’re accused of receiving through fraudulent activity. Their conspiracy charge could get them up to a five-year prison sentence and $250,000 in fines. The other charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The lawsuit alleges the brothers conducted illegal activity between 1997 and 2002.

According to the indictment, Dr. Boesen scheduled patients for repeated appointments that were medically unnecessary. He also allegedly fabricated patient notes to justify procedures he performed.

The lawsuit alleges the doctor instructed nurses to contact pathology laboratories and instruct them to have his patients’ tissue samples be labeled “cholesteatoma” which is an ear infection that sometimes requires surgical treatment.

Topics USA Fraud Ohio Kansas