Beachwood Chiropractor Pleads Guilty To Money Laundering, Theft

TOMS RIVER, NJ - An Ocean County chiropractor who wired $1.5 million in fraudulent funds to his family in Russia has pleaded guilty to money laundering and theft by deception, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's office said.

Carlo Amato, 56, Beachwood, admitted to overbilling several insurance companies from January 2013 to December 2016. The former owner of Lakewood-based Chiropractic Care Consultants and Accident Recovery Physical Therapy faces up to 10 years in state prison, said spokesman Al Della Fave.

Amato also admitted he used his children's trust accounts to funnel the money to his wife and family, who now live in Russia.

While he was out on bail for the overbilling practices, Amato was arrested again for bilking the state of New Jersey and Prudential Insurance Companies out of $116,000 disability benefits between November 2013 and May 2015. He was still working as a chiropractor and receiving the benefits for injuries he said prevented him from working, Della Fave said.

That prompted authorities to conduct a search warrant on his Beachwood home in December 2017. They found $182,515 in cash hidden in a wall, fraudulent identifications and handwritten plans on how to flee the country, he said.

Amato will face a sentence of up to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison with a five-year parole disqualifier on the money laundering charge, consecutive to five years in state prison on the theft charge.

The guilty plea resulted from a joint investigation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the OCPO Special Investigations Unit. FBI Special Agent Christine Parr and Detective John LaRaia of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office led the investigation. They were assisted by Agent Katerina Huxel.

Photo: Courtesy of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office