Suburban Chicago relatives sentenced in health care scam

CHICAGO (AP) - A suburban Chicago chiropractor, as well as his father and his brother have been sentenced to prison in a phony-billing scheme that cheated insurers out of nearly $11 million.

A Wednesday statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago says their Wheeling company, Gordin Medical Center S.C., falsely billed carriers for services that were either not provided or that were unnecessary. They also falsified medical records in bids to conceal the scam.

The government's sentencing memo described the clinic as a "front for false billing." And it said "patient care was an afterthought."

All three pleaded guilty to fraud. A judge this week sentenced 46-year-old Vladimir Gordin Jr. to seven years behind bars and 70-year-old Vladimir Gordin Sr. to 2 1/2 years. The 34-year-old Alexsander Gordin received two years.