Atlanta Chiropractors Accused Of Filing Fraudulent Claims At Marietta Clinic

MARIETTA, GA – Two doctors have been arraigned on conspiracy and fraud charges by federal prosecutors, who allege that the pair used their Cobb County chiropractic practice to submit false claims to insurance providers. Drs. Allan Spagnardi and Stacy Spagnardi billed insurers for fake claims, prosecutors said.

Spagnardi and Spagnardi allegedly claimed millions of dollars in fake insurance claims from their chiropractic clinic in Marietta, federal prosecutors said. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Over a three-year period the two doctors allegedly submitted numerous fraudulent claims to private insurance providers for procedures that never took place. “These two chiropractors are alleged to have reported fake patient visits in order to enrich themselves through fraudulent insurance claims,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said in a statement. “Fraudulent healthcare billing threatens the integrity of our healthcare system and is ultimately paid for by the taxpayers.”

“Healthcare providers need to think twice before trying to illegally maximize their profits at the expense of honest citizens,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta FBI. “Bringing this case to federal court is an example of our determination to protect those citizens and root out waste, fraud and abuse of our healthcare system.”

“Healthcare fraud has become a significant problem in the world today” said James Dorsey, Acting Special Agent in Charge for IRS Criminal Investigation. “The Spagnardis’ greed and want of a lavish lifestyle led them to commit healthcare fraud and we will continue to support investigative efforts to deter such actions.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, some of the patients the two doctors claim to have treated weren't even in the United States at the time. "In one instance, the Spagnardis allegedly claimed that their clinic had 296 patient visits during a week that they were actually on a Royal Caribbean cruise vacation," federal officials said in a news release.

Allan Spagnardi, 38, and Stacy Spagnardi, 50, both of Atlanta were arraigned Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman.

According to the indictment, Stacy Spagnardi spent much of the money gathered from the fraudulent claims at casinos. Allan Spagnardi allegedly bought a BMW motorcycle and a 2015 BMW M4 with proceeds from the ill-gotten gains, the feds said.

This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance, and the Atlanta Police Department.

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