Woodmere chiropractor admits Medicare fraud

Cedarhurst resident Melvin Cwibeker, the owner of Mel Cwibeker D.C. in Woodmere said he submitted fraudulent Medicare claims for more than six years, and admitted he hired employees to create fake patient records.

Cwibeker, 60, who was arrested in 2012, was in U.S. District Court on June 24. He pleaded guilty to health care fraud and obstructing a federal audit. Cwibeker, who trained three other hired chiropractors to not provide the required Medicare patient care agreed to pay restitution and a $500,000 forfeiture. He will be sentenced on Nov. 6 and is free on a $1 million bond.

From January 2006 to March 2012, Cwibeker received $4.5 million in bogus billings. In total, the amount of fraudulent billings was $6.4 million.

The chiropractors, Richard Hurwitz, 45, of Long Beach; Shimon Metz, 45, of West Hempstead; and Mark Samuel, 55, of Mamaroneck, pleaded guilty to health care fraud in 2013.