Southland therapists arrested in alleged insurance scams

A licensed speech therapist and a marriage and family therapist were arrested Tuesday for allegedly billing Anthem Blue Cross for services amounting to $3.5 million that were never provided.

Erin Kayem, 42, and Steve Orenstein, 57, are charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit grand theft and grand theft, according to the state Department of Insurance.

As out-of-network providers, Orenstein and Kayem billed a total of $3.5 million to Anthem Blue Cross and received nearly $1 million, according to the state.

The insurance company and department investigators reviewed billings of two patients who were seen at Orenstein’s Brain Enhancement Institute and Kayem’s Neurodevelopment Learning Institute and discovered that Anthem Blue Cross was billed for multiple services the therapists did not actually provide, state officials said.

In one case, a patient visited one of the facilities for 12 sessions but the insurance company was billed for 59 sessions, according to the Department of Insurance. Another patient visited Kayem’s institute for six sessions and Anthem was billed for 74 sessions.

Orenstein was booked at the inmate reception center in Los Angeles and Kayem was booked at the sheriff’s Lynwood station. Bail was set for both at $350,000. They each face up to 65 years in prison if convicted of all counts.

“Health insurance fraud is a multibillion-dollar criminal enterprise in California that everyone pays for through higher premiums,” Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “Medical providers are in a position of great trust. Unfortunately, the providers in this case broke that trust when they fraudulently billed for services never performed.”

— City News Service