SEQUIM — The state Attorney General’s Office alleges that a chiropractor defauded the state of more than $11,000 by double-billing the state Department of Labor & Industries while he ran the Coastal Chiropractic Center in Sequim.
Marc A. Ferrin has been summoned to be arraigned in Clallam County Superior Court today on charges of one count of first-degree theft and nine counts of making false statements or concealing information between 2006 and 2008.
Ferrin closed his office in Sequim in spring and moved to Jefferson City, Mo., where he runs a new clinic, according to his Web site.
He also previously had an office on Bainbridge Island.
Ferrin did not return a phone call to his office in Jefferson City requesting comment.
Documents filed by the Attorney General’s Office in Clallam County Superior Court, allege that
Ferrin committed fraud by billing L&I for appointments at his Sequim office that never occurred.
This happened, an L&I investigation concluded, 176 times among nine patients of Ferrin whose treatment was covered by the agency, the documents said.
All together, that adds up to $11,538.52.
“We think it’s a big deal,” said Barbara Davis, L&I spokeswoman, who added that the agency has seen fraud cases involving a lot more money.
Another L&I spokeswoman, Selena Davis, said that the investigation was limited to the Sequim office.
Ferrin’s Bainbridge Island office had been closed by the time the inquiry began, she said.
L&I’s audit report of Ferrin was completed about a year ago.
Neither spokeswoman could say why charges weren’t filed sooner since that was up to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Each count of fraud, a class C felony, carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The theft charge, which Ferrin faces due to the large amount of allegedly fraudulent billings, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
The nine-month-long investigation began in March 2008 when Ferrin’s billing clerk in Sequim contacted L & I to file a fraud claim, court documents say.
The subsequent investigation, which included interviews with patients and staff at the Sequim office and a search of the office in September 2008, validated her claim, the agency concluded.
Investigators said that billing statements did not match with his patients’ appointment calendars or chart notes.
L & I investigators also said that Ferrin billed it for fraudulent appointments that supposedly took place while he was on vacation or when the office was closed for holidays.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
