South Korean Owner of Physical Therapy Clinic Indicted on Health Care Fraud Charges

BOSTON – The former owner of several physical therapy clinics in Greater Boston has been indicted by a federal grand jury on health care fraud charges.

Chang Goo Yoon, 59, a South Korean national residing in Queens, N.Y., was indicted on two counts of health care fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Yoon was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in February 2021.

According to charging documents, Yoon was the owner and operator of several physical therapy clinics in Allston, Waltham and Brookline between 2014 and 2018. It is alleged that Yoon billed patients for non-existent physical therapy appointments, including approximately $200,000 in claims billed on dates when Yoon was traveling in South Korea, Los Angeles and Toronto. Yoon also billed $60,000 in claims on dates when he was gambling at casinos including the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, N.J., MGM Springfield in Massachusetts and Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. Additionally, Yoon submitted approximately $30,000 in physical therapy claims for himself after three automobile accidents. According to the indictment, most of those claims falsely listed one of Yoon’s employees as the servicing physical therapist. The remaining claims allegedly listed Yoon as both the patient and the servicing physical therapist.

The charge of health care fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory two-year sentence to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts; and Joshua McCallister, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Q. Wan of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.