Columbus chiropractor Dr. James Donovan is free on $10,000 bond after being charged with insurance fraud.
Attorney General Jim Hood”s office announced Friday Donovan, 63, of the Donovan Chiropractic Clinic in Columbus, is charged with four counts of insurance fraud. He turned himself in to the Lowndes County Sheriff”s Office Friday before bonding out and returning to work.
The indictment alleges Donovan made false or fraudulent claims on the insurance policies of four patients between Jan. 1, 2007, and March 23, 2008, totaling more than $3,500. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison and a $20,000 fine in addition to reimbursement expenses. He is due in court Aug. 16.
The attorney general”s office offered no additional details on the case.
Reached at his office, Donovan said the charges are a misunderstanding on the part of Blue Cross/Blue Shield and he has retained a lawyer to fight the charges. He says he hasn”t received detailed information on the charges.
“There”s nothing I can do really (in preparation) because I really don”t know who”s going to be doing what to whom,” he said. “I”d like to tell Blue Cross/Blue Shield to take a long walk off a short pier.”
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