Penn. Doc Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Overprescribing Drugs

September 25, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

A federal judge in Pittsburgh has sentenced a physician to more than 11 years in prison and ordered him to pay $700,000 to two insurance companies in connection with charges that he overprescribed painkillers to dozens of patients.

Physician Oliver Herndon pleaded guilty in May and was sentenced Monday.

Federal Drug Enforcement Agency agents raided his palliative care practice in upscale Peters Township earlier this year. That came after 87 of 128 area pharmacies told investigators they were refusing to fill prescriptions from Herndon because they questioned whether the large-scale painkiller prescriptions were medically necessary.

Herndon was ordered to repay the insurance companies $700,000 for covering the unnecessary drugs.

 

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetCategories: East NewsTopics: Fraud, PennsylvaniaHave a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk

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Md. Woman Convicted of Disability Fraud, Faces Up to 5 Years in Jail

October 12, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticle1 Comments

Prosecutors say a woman who collected federal disability benefits while operating a fitness center has been convicted of making false statements to obtain those benefits.

A jury convicted 48-year-old Darlene Altvater of Mechanicsville, Maryland, on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. She faces up to five years in prison at sentencing Jan. 7.

According to evidence presented at trial, Altvater, who worked for the Postal Service, sustained on-the-job head and neck injuries. She began collecting federal workers’ compensation benefits in 2001.

Prosecutors say from January 2005 through December 2011, Altvater operated a salon, day spa and fitness center. Witnesses testified that Altvater demonstrated the use of fitness equipment. She was still receiving disability benefits.

 

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetCategories: East NewsTopics: Fraud, Maryland, workers' comopensationHave a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk

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Allstate Agents Returning to Massachusetts After 25 Years

October 5, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticle3 Comments

Allstate Insurance Co. is reopening brick-and-mortar offices in Massachusetts after a quarter century of absence.

Back in 1987, the Northbrook, Ill.-headquartered Allstate closed its offices in Massachusetts and pulled out of the market, citing the state’s strict regulation of auto insurance rates.

But Massachusetts’ regulatory environment has been changing in recent years. In 2008, the state began implementing “managed competition” and took steps to deregulate private passenger auto insurance rates.

This move to managed competition has brought a number of insurers — including GEICO and Progressive — to the state’s auto insurance market. Allstate started to again offer private passenger auto insurance in the state in 2009 — through its agents from neighboring states (including Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) as well as through an 800 number (1-800-Allstate).

Allstate Plans ‘Aggressive Ramp-Up’ in Massachusetts

Now, with the opening of new offices, Allstate is expanding its business in earnest. The company says it is planning an “aggressive ramp-up” in coming years.

On Monday, Oct. 1, Allstate opened an office in North Andover, a suburb of Boston. It’s the company’s first brick-and-mortar office in Massachusetts in 25 years. At least two more offices are scheduled to open in the state before the end of the year.

“We just opened our first office in North Andover

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40 years in Insurance- why my Dad’s my hero

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Home Alan Galvez Insurance40th anniversary 40 years in Insurance- why my Dad’s my hero 40 years in Insurance- why my Dad’s my hero 03/31/2011 at 19:35

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