HOUSTON – A former law office manager from Bryan was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison Monday after he was convicted of trying to cheat automobile insurance companies out of $3 million.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 41-year-old Earlie Dickerson worked at Houston-based Sanjoh & Associates, and he and four other people engaged in a conspiracy to defraud auto insurance companies from 2007-2009.
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Prosecutors say Dickerson recruited people involved in auto accidents to be represented by the Sanjoh law firm. They say he then sent those people to specific clinics where his associate, 46-year-old Chase Lindsey, was the only chiropractor.
Marion Young, 44, was in charge of one of Lindsey's clinics. She also referred people to Sanjoh & Associates. Prosecutors say he got checks from the law firm that totaled approximately $77,000, as well as approximately $35,000 in cash from Dickerson.
According to trial testimony, Dickerson paid Lindsey $2,000 a month to evaluate those patients. Lindsey recommended treatments that were either not done or done by untrained and unlicensed people. Lindsey always prescribed the same six treatments but the patients usually received only two: ice/heat packs and electric stimulation.
Edward Graham, 38, and Brittany Jessie, 24, created false and fraudulent chiropractic bills for the treatments which were never performed, according to prosecutors.
Dickerson used those as support for settlement demand letters sent to auto insurance companies.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says the scheme resulted in the submission of more than $3 million in false billing claims on which the companies paid out at least $1.2 million in settlement checks.
All of the defendants in this case are residents of Bryan.
Young had previously pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and was sentenced to a 60-month-term of imprisonment Monday.
Graham was also convicted at trial with Dickerson and will be sentenced Oct. 14. Lindsey and Jessie pleaded guilty in advance of trial and were sentenced previously to 24 and 30 months in federal prison respectively.