Philip Potacco allegedly recruited accident victims to defraud insurers for phony treatment
TRENTON -- A North Jersey chiropractor who had his license revoked more than a decade ago was indicted Friday for his role in a medical fraud ring that allegedly stole millions from insurance companies.
Philip Potacco, 62, is accused of using a medical consulting group to recruit the victims of accidents -- as well as people who allegedly staged car crashes -- to submit bogus insurance claims totaling $3,991,812, according to the state Attorney General's Office.
Reached by telephone Friday, Potacco's attorney, Thomas Ashley, said his client plans to plead not guilty.
"My client has consistently denied any criminal activity with respect to the chiropractic office," Ashley told NJ Advance Media. "He was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever."
Potacco, of Kinnelon, had his chiropractic license revoked in 2002, according to the state Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
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The prosecutor's office claims Potacco in 2010 recruited a licensed chiropractor to act as a "front man" for his firm, South Orange Medical Facility Consulting Group LLC, which he operated covertly for five years.
Potacco allegedly used "runners" who recruited the sham patients and submitted claims to insurers using the billing information of his straw owner, John Langeraap, 37. In some cases, authorities said, the services the company billed for were never provided.
Langeraap, of Sparta, has already pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, authorities said.
Three other individuals -- Mark Gertner, 66, of Montclair; Anulet Josaphat, 62, of Union; and Wilguere Rezan, 44, of Irvington -- also previously pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal running for acting as intermediaries between Potacco and the patients.
Two others, Jude M. DiManche, 41, of East Orange, and Andre J. Richemond, 41, of East Orange, were named in the indictment announced Friday, which was handed up in Superior Court in Morris County.
Potacco allegedly laundered much of the money through a shell company to accounts held under his own name and his wife's name.
"This was an elaborate web of lies and deceit allegedly spun by one disgraced medical practitioner who cloaked himself in the identity of a licensed practitioner to steal millions of dollars from insurance companies," said acting Attorney General Robert Lougy said in a statement on Friday.
Ashley, Potacco's attorney, said they intend to "litigate the case vigorously."
S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.