A San Diego neurosurgeon on Friday denied charges he was involved in what prosecutors allege was a nearly $100 million workers’ compensation insurance fraud.
An attorney for Dr. Vrijesh Tantuwaya, 55, issued a statement saying he received no money from the co-defendants in the case and has filed a civil lawsuit against them claiming to be a victim himself.
The three other defendants in the case, which was filed July 30, are David Wayne Fish, 55, of Laguna Niguel, Robert Young Lee, 61, of Rancho Mirage, and Martin Brill, 78, of Los Angeles.
The four are charged with 13 felony counts including referral of clients for compensation, conspiracy, false and fraudulent claims and insurance fraud, Orange County prosecutors said.
They are accused of billing nearly $100 million to multiple insurance carriers and were illegally paid referral fees from medical and pharmaceutical providers.
Fish, Brill and Lee founded Southern California Injured Workers, which offered a variety of medical management services such as marketing, billing and collections, prosecutors said. Fish was listed as a consultant, but he was in charge of the company, prosecutors allege.
The three, along with Tantuwaya, also started Injured Workers Medical Group, according to prosecutors, who added that Fish has been twice convicted of workers’ compensation insurance fraud and was barred from the system.
His attorney, Scott Simmons called Tantuwaya a “respected and highly skilled neurosurgeon with a 22-year unblemished career,” in a statement.
“Dr. Tantuwaya maintains his complete innocence and is confident that the evidence will demonstrate his lack of involvement in any illegal activities,” Simmons said in the statement.
The physician “did not receive a single penny in kickbacks” in the alleged fraud case, Simmons said.
“It will become clear that he was a victim of fraud himself and, in fact, has filed a civil lawsuit against Southern California Injured Workers, the company formed by Martin Brill, Robert Lee, and allegedly run by David Fish, for conspiracy to defraud and fraud concealment, among other causes of action,” Simmons said.
Defense attorneys for the Brill, Fish and Lee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
