Boca Raton doctor who filed over $17M in fake insurance claims heads to prison

BOCA RATON, Fla. (CBS12) — A local doctor who filed more than $17 million in false insurance claims is on his way to prison.

Dr. Max Citrin, who runs a medical practice in Boca Raton, pled guilty Monday to four counts of false and fraudulent insurance fraud from 2015 to 2018, the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office announced. He had collected over $2.4 million from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and Humana.

The 38-year-old was sentenced to 30 months in prison and five years of probation as part of the agreement, according to the Palm Beach State Attorney's Office. He also has to give up his medical licenses in Florida and California, as well as pay over $2.4 million in restitution to the insurance companies.

Citrin was first arrested on March 10, 2020 after undercover operation conducted by Palm Beach County’s Sober Homes Task Force revealed he was improperly prescribing controlled substances to sober home residents, the Palm Beach State Attorney's Office said. The undercover operation, which began in November 2017, found Citrin was regularly billing insurance companies as much as $20,000 per patient for unnecessary treatment after copying and pasting fake symptoms for patients.

There were 227 patients involved in the fake treatment and billing scheme, many of whom never complained about, or suffered from, allergies of any kind.

Citrin was then re-arrested on Feb. 25, 2021 for additional charges stemming from the ongoing investigation.

“Dr. Citrin made a mockery of his Hippocratic oath by cutting and pasting the same symptoms and vital signs for most of his patients so he could fraudulently bill insurers millions of dollars,” State Attorney Aronberg said. “Our Sober Homes Task Force will continue to investigate, arrest and prosecute those, like Dr. Citrin, who exploit people in drug recovery and put profit over patient care.”

Citrin's conviction is the 75th for Palm Beach County’s Sober Homes Task Force, which has made 120 arrests since October 2016.

News article: https://cbs12.com/news/local/boca-raton-doctor-who-filed-over-17m-in-fake-insurance-claims-heads-to-prison