A 73-year-old man charged with insurance fraud faces up to 11 years behind bars if convicted of working as an unlicensed eye doctor at a small shop in San Jose.
Prosecutors said Valery Dobrushin, of San Francisco, was illegally giving eye examinations and prescribing eyeglasses to customers of Val’s Optical, and billing insurance companies for some of the services rendered.
http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html
The joint investigation by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the California Department of Consumer Affairs led to five felony charges and two misdemeanors.
The felonies are related to insurance fraud — prosecutors said that Dobrushin administered more than 300 illegal eye exams between January 2009 and January 2012, billing insurance companies for more than $11,300.
The misdemeanors involve giving the exams and prescribing the eyeglasses.
“Licensed optometrists and ophthalmologists are the only people qualified to examine your eyes and make prescriptions,” wrote insurance fraud prosecutor Christopher Kwok in a news release. “The defendant seems to have believed that he was somehow exempt from the law and risked the eyesight of hundreds of trusting people.”
If convicted, he would also would be ordered to pay full restitution.
Dobrushin is an optician, which means he is legally limited to analyzing and interpreting eye prescriptions and determining the best lenses for a person’s needs.
