1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: Also media. 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 2: Yeah, so I mean, I don't know. 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: I just I don't think it's technically murder like if 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: nobody saw right, that's at least you know, That's always 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:16,159 Speaker 1: been my stance on that. 6 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, are we recording? 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: Oh shit, welcome back to Behind the Pastards a podcast 8 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: where no one involved with making this episode killed anybody 9 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,479 Speaker 1: in a bar fight in twenty fourteen. Didn't happened. You know, 10 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: nobody saw anything right, So we're good. 11 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 2: No one can prove Sophia is there. 12 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 1: Yeah, nobody can prove Sophia about it. 13 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 2: I would lie for you in court, Robert. 14 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: I know you, and I would throw you under the 15 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,319 Speaker 1: bus Sophie speaking, you know who throws all of us 16 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: under the bus on a regular basis. Insurance our health 17 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: insurance companies. 18 00:00:55,040 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 2: Yes, for sure, let me have min Inhaler, you coward. Yeah, 19 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 2: Sophie and I are. 20 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 1: We're ETNA, right, Sophie, Yeah, yeah, fuck these people, we're 21 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: both having our Our health insurance did a thing that 22 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of people have experienced where one 23 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: year suddenly it works completely differently and you have to 24 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 1: pay for stuff you never had to pay for, even 25 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: though everyone on the phone says nothing has changed and 26 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: your insurance is still the same as it is. 27 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 2: This isn't a con. We're not being robbed. Yeah, you 28 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 2: mean to contact the original prescribing doctor. He died in 29 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 2: twenty fifteen. 30 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: Love it all, Love all of this stuff. Love that 31 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: what they're doing is legal. But like somebody who steals 32 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,279 Speaker 1: a fucking I don't know, detergent from a CBS should 33 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: be shot. It's cool stuff. So we talked in episode 34 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: one two different doctor scal like fake doctor scams, right, 35 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: both of which involved the use of NPI numbers people 36 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: basically in one case fake outright faking and case a 37 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: woman who was not a doctor stealing her husband who 38 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: was a doctor's NPI for the purpose of doing fraudulent 39 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: medical stuff. 40 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 2: Right. 41 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: As I told you, when I started looking at what 42 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: I thought were kind of disparate cases, I kind of 43 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: uncovered through my research a through line between them and 44 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: I should to be specific, I uncovered other reporting that 45 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: revealed the through line. Right. I did not do this 46 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 1: on my own air. A lot of this comes down 47 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: to Pro Publica, who's going to be really the source 48 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: for most of what we're talking about today. But I'm 49 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: going to start with the story of doctor David Williams. 50 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: As best as I can tell, he was born in 51 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: Idaho around nineteen sixty three. So we're off to a 52 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: bad start already, folks. His early life was promising so 53 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: far as I can tell. He got a bachelor's and 54 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,959 Speaker 1: then a master's degree in physical education from Boise State, 55 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: and then he moved to Texas A and M, where 56 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: he received his PhD in kinesesiology. Now, as a Texan, 57 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: when I hear somebody went to Texas A and M 58 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: to get a PhD, and being a gym teacher, I 59 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: do think this guy's probably a monster. 60 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 2: I really wanted to children. Yeah. 61 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, So again, this is a fake doctor. He has 62 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: an actual doctor in that he's a PhD. But this 63 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: is not a medical degree. You are not a physician 64 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: because you have a PhD in kinestesiology, right. Kinnesesiology is 65 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: an actual discipline. It's the study of movement performance and function, 66 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: and it involves a lot of real science. Having an 67 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: understanding of kinnesstesiology involves everything from molecular biology to anatomy, 68 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: and of course the study of how exercise affects the body. 69 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: What kinistesiology is not is a medical discipline, and this 70 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: is going to be very important soon. When he was 71 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: at Boise State, Dave, doctor Dave, He's going to have 72 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: everybody call him. Had been a wrestler, and a pretty 73 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: good one at that. He was an All American and 74 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: academic and All American wrestler or whatever. I don't understand 75 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: the wrestling things he was. He was a good wrestler. 76 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: He claims to have held a state record in powerlifting. 77 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: I can't actually verify this, but the stuff about being 78 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: a pretty good wrestler seems to be verified, So why not. 79 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: Once he graduated in Texas, he got a job working 80 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: as a community college professor in Arlington, and again another 81 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: black mark against him. I don't know if you people 82 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: have ever been to Arlington, but stay away. I nearly 83 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: went to college there. I showed up on campus one day. 84 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: I did that commute from Dallas one day and was like, 85 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: I'm not doing college in Arlington. 86 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 2: Fuck this shit, Arlington, Glenston. Even throwing a lot of 87 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 2: this is like a deep Texas couple of episodes that 88 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 2: we've been doing. 89 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: As a twenty some year resident of Texas, there's one 90 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: place in that state. I'll go to bat four and 91 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: it's Marfa, so never heard of it. Oh, it's great town. 92 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: Once he graduates in Texas, he got a job working 93 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: as a community college professor in Iarlton right, and the 94 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,840 Speaker 1: a Pro Publica investigation into him describes this job as 95 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 1: well paying, which you don't hear often in reference to 96 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: community college gigs. I don't know what exactly he's doing there, 97 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: but I believe he gets up to a con and 98 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: that may be why he was making a lot of 99 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: money as a community college professor. We don't really have 100 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: any details about this, but his wife, Amy Lankford, who 101 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: married him about the time that he starts this job, 102 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: later told Pro Publica that after they've been together a 103 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 1: few years, he got fired suddenly and she never found 104 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: out why. Republica just notes that he was fired for 105 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: reasons hidden by a confidential settlement and by Williams himself, 106 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: who refused to reveal them even to his wife. So 107 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: my guess is some sort of scam with like admissions 108 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: money or something faking students. 109 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 2: I don't know he does tell your wife's I mean, 110 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 2: that's a hard one to you. 111 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:50,280 Speaker 1: You might take that that might be folks, that might 112 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 1: be a read a warning sign. If you get married 113 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: to somebody and they get fired and there's some sort 114 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 1: of weird legal case and they refuse to ever tell you, 115 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: probably that. 116 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 2: Probably a problem there. If she's been honest. Yeah, that's 117 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 2: that's not right. That's probably a problem. Yeah. 118 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,359 Speaker 1: So whatever got him canned from this first gig was 119 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: very likely fraud, because his next pivot was to start 120 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: begging friends and family to invest money into a new 121 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: business venture. Once they donated, he would pressure them to 122 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: get their friends to invest in what he described as 123 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: a sure thing. And the gist of this business was 124 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: that he had bought an old Win Dixie grocery store 125 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: and he was going to turn it into a health 126 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: club called Docs gymab. 127 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:29,799 Speaker 2: He didn't grow up in the South. 128 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: Win Dixie is, like i'd call it, like a second 129 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 1: or third tier grocery chain. It's better than Pigley Wiggley, 130 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: but it's not as good as agb Right, fred Meyer. 131 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 2: You're just fucking making up names now, yeah, fred Meyer. 132 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's broadly, it's a little it's it's not quite 133 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: as nice as a fred Meyer. Oh my god, yeah, 134 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: it's not as nice as a fred Wi. 135 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 2: I would say, no idea it's a California I'm familiar with, 136 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 2: like three and one of an alpha beta baby. 137 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: Four I'd meet every now and then, like a couple 138 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: of times in my life, other people who shopped at 139 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: Pigley Wiggley's when they were kids, and like, it's like 140 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: what I imagine it was like in like the fifties 141 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: and sixties, running into someone else who'd fought at Bestone 142 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: where you're like, oh, yeah, we share a special secret 143 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: trauma together. 144 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 2: What a reference. 145 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: I am working on a reboot of Band of Brothers 146 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 1: that's just about shopping at a Pigley Wiggly in rural Oklahoma, 147 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: So check out for that one. Spielberg's attached to direct. 148 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: We're very excited, ye, So whatever is going on with this? 149 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 1: Because I think there's some I'm sure there's some sort 150 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: of scam here beyond just that this is a bad 151 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: idea for a business because a lot of you know, 152 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: like kind of midway through the deal, after he's taken 153 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: a bunch of people's money, the deal he had set 154 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: up to buy this, when Dixie collapses and everyone who 155 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: had invested lost everything, right, a local newspaper published an 156 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: article on the whole titled what's up with Docs, because 157 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: that was going to be the name of the gym, 158 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: because he called himself Doc. 159 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 2: I see where they're going with that. 160 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you can put together those pieces. 161 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: I've seen it referenced, but I have not found the article, 162 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: so I didn't come across more information there. But the 163 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: fact that he has just taken a bunch of investments 164 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: from their close friends and family and then made all 165 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: that money go away put some strain on the marriage, 166 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,119 Speaker 1: as you might imagine, and by two thousand and six, 167 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: after fourteen years together and two children, they started divorce proceedings. 168 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: Amy's father, Jim Pratt, was a finance MBA, and she 169 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:38,959 Speaker 1: had him over to help her with the complex, nightmarish 170 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: process of divorcing. She asked him to help her recover 171 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: a file on her computer which was acting up, and 172 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,600 Speaker 1: while they were doing that, he came across a shady 173 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: file folder named invoices from a pro publica investigation quote. 174 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:55,599 Speaker 1: Pratt found about a dozen bills that appeared to be 175 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: from a Fort Worth nonprofit organization where his daughter and 176 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 1: Williams took their son Jake for all treatment. As Pratt suspected, 177 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: the invoices turned out to be fake. Williams had pretended 178 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,959 Speaker 1: to take Jake for therapy, then created the false bills 179 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 1: so he could pocket a cash reimbursement from the county agency. 180 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: So wow, Yeah, that's. 181 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,640 Speaker 2: I knew autism would find its way into one of 182 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 2: these shares eventual course, because again it's one of those 183 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 2: gray zones where all like, when people are unclear about 184 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 2: what's going on, these grifters come in and fucking find 185 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 2: a way to make money off of it. 186 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: This is about when I'm teaching special ed and dealing 187 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,439 Speaker 1: with a lot of like how the healthcare system and 188 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: whatnot was treating autism at that point in time, and 189 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: it is like especially compared to now significantly more primitive 190 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,440 Speaker 1: period of time. So it makes sense to me that 191 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 1: he would think, like, well, I can like fake some 192 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: invoices for this and probably won't run into anybody who 193 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: knows enough about what should be going on that they'll 194 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: catch this, right, But they do right. In November two 195 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 1: thousand and eight, Williams pleads guilty and tearing County to 196 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: felony theft. He's sentenced to eighteen months in jail, and 197 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:06,440 Speaker 1: he is released on bail as he appeals. 198 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 2: He does wind up. 199 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: Doing some time something like a year, I think, and 200 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 1: life goes on, right. Amy eventually allows him to take 201 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: partial custody of their children because his crime, while fucked up, 202 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: had not involved the abuse of a child, just the 203 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: abuse of the system itself. It is kind of on 204 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: the edge of abuse of a child and spoiler, that's 205 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: where this is heading. But she doesn't really have grounds 206 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: to separate him from his kids at this stage, right, 207 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,000 Speaker 1: So he moves on to working as a personal trainer. 208 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: He had been doing that for some That was part 209 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: of why their marriage broke up. He'd been working as 210 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: a personal trainer for a bit during that period, and 211 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: he wasn't really able to bring in much money, and 212 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: you know, so he starts doing that again. He continues 213 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 1: trying to make a living that way, and he has 214 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: a friend cod him a website, get Fit with Steve. 215 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 1: This friend, Steve Causio, receives free physical training sessions in 216 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: exchange for his work, and for a while things seem good. 217 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: This changes a year or so later, as he and 218 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 1: Amy's eleven year old son comes to school covered in 219 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:11,359 Speaker 1: facial bruises. His teachers obviously reported this, and an investigation 220 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 1: revealed that Williams had hit their son in the face 221 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:20,559 Speaker 1: quote about twenty times. So that's real bad. Williams pleads 222 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: guilty to a felony and he goes back to jail 223 00:11:22,679 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 1: for two years, right. 224 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 2: Just just like did he I mean you probably know 225 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 2: the details of this, just fucking hitting his kid. He 226 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 2: hits his kid. 227 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,199 Speaker 1: Yeah, sounds like I'm guessing the kid, you know, I 228 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 1: think he's like not he's not neurotypical, So I'm guessing 229 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,559 Speaker 1: the kid was engaged in some sort of behavior that 230 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: the doc did not know how to like, either just 231 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: didn't like or didn't know how to deal with, and 232 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 1: he just decided to punch. 233 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 2: The kid a bunch fucking dance whole. Yeah. It's horrible. 234 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean he's he's the villain of the He's 235 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: one of the villains of the episode. 236 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:57,959 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what, I'm not one of these doctors 237 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,400 Speaker 2: that says like other people are in DOC like PhDs, etcetera. 238 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 2: On doctor. But like when a guy like this like 239 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 2: tries to use doctor like it's. 240 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:11,079 Speaker 1: I mean, I was saying, having the experiences I had 241 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: in a grade school, I'm not surprised that a guy 242 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: who's got a PhD in being a gym teachers, like 243 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: his default reaction is just to hit a kid when 244 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 1: they have a medical issue. Yeah, that absolutely scams. Texas 245 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: gym teacher uses punches to treat some sort of neurological situation. Yeah, 246 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: of course that's scance. This kid is different, I'm gonna 247 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: punch him. So at this point Doc has crossed the 248 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,319 Speaker 1: line from con artist and scammer, which is a mixed 249 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: bag from a moral standpoint, but not inherently evil. Plenty 250 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,320 Speaker 1: of lovable con artists out there to outright monster shit. 251 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:49,680 Speaker 2: Right. 252 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 1: Amy spends the next like two years while he's in jail, 253 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 1: focusing on her kids, trying to move on in life, 254 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: trying to help them heal from what the fuck this 255 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,840 Speaker 1: guy has done to them, while William spends his time 256 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: hind bars perfecting his next con. So he still has 257 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: a friend on the outside, and it's Steve Cossio, the 258 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 1: guy who had codd his website. Williams convinced him that 259 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: the whole hitting his son in the face twenty times 260 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: thing was overblown. He claimed he'd just been disciplining the 261 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,959 Speaker 1: boy normally, and he wrote in one email, I can 262 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: honestly say that I am the only one in here 263 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: for spanking their child in the face. In the face. 264 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: Do you spank a child in the face? 265 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:28,200 Speaker 2: Number one? I'm not a big fan of spanking, but 266 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 2: do you spank the face? Is that why you spank? 267 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,679 Speaker 2: Is the face? What a fucking asshole? Uh? 268 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: His father in law, he wrote, was an evil, evil 269 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: man who'd engineered the charges against him in some nefarious manner. 270 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: Now I'm not sure if Casio himself is a huge 271 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 1: piece of shit or just very gullible. My gut says, 272 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: probably a little bit of column A, a little bit 273 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: of column B. Probably more gollible than piece of shit, 274 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: but probably not none piece of shit. So Williams and 275 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 1: Casio work out a plan for him to make a 276 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: bunch of cash quick when he gets out of jail, 277 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: because he's calculated. William is calculated, I need thirty thousand 278 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: dollars asap to get an attorney that can get me 279 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:08,119 Speaker 1: access to my kids again, right, which. 280 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,719 Speaker 2: So he can the last that gets the last? They 281 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,679 Speaker 2: want this? Yeah, what does he want? I mean? This 282 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 2: is this is this kind of guy. Right? 283 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: They think they have a right to their children, they 284 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,280 Speaker 1: possess them, they have a right to discipline them or whatever. 285 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: Maybe it's just as simple as he hates his ex 286 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: wife and he wants to take them away from her. 287 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: I don't know a couple of things. It could be 288 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: none of them good. So there's no honest way for 289 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: a kinnesesiology PhD to make thirty thousand dollars overnight, right, 290 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 1: It's just not that kind of gig. But a medical 291 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: practitioner taking advantage of the hysterically fucked up state of 292 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: our healthcare industry absolutely can bill insurers for that kind 293 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: of money in a very short period of time if 294 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: they are diagnosing and treating a handful of patients. Thirty 295 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: thousand dollars is not a lot of money in the 296 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 1: world of billing health insurance, right, one person can rack 297 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 1: that up in a night or two. A thos easy, 298 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: you know. So while he's in inside, they sketch out 299 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: a plan. When he gets out, he's going to go 300 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: back to doing personal training, but he wouldn't work as 301 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: a personal trainer. Instead, he'd recruit other trainers and have 302 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: them train people, and he'd remove personal training from his website. Instead, 303 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: he would use his legitimate status as a PhD to 304 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 1: build himself as a doctor, and then he would diagnose 305 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: patients and prescribe them physical training and build their insurance 306 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: both for the diagnosis and for the PT sessions. 307 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 2: Right now, our system is so stupid. Fucking system is 308 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 2: so stupid. 309 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, our system is stupid. This is also a crime, right, 310 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: Like he's taking advantage of the system, but it's not 311 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:44,800 Speaker 1: You're not supposed to be able to do this, right, Yeah, 312 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: Obviously there's a gray area in that sometimes, Like I said, 313 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: like I've had a back injury and I got some 314 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: physical therapy for it, right, Like, there's a great but 315 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: like your average physical personal trainer, and that's a valid, 316 00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:58,360 Speaker 1: you know, profession. 317 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 2: There's a lot of skill that goes into that. 318 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 1: But it's not a medical profession, right. It can it 319 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 1: can help prevent certain medical problems, sure potentially, but like 320 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: you're not but you see, they're not treating. 321 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:15,880 Speaker 2: You're not treating medical conditions. Yea, with with therapy, you're yeah, 322 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 2: you're treating injury with therapy and you're strengthening. But there's 323 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 2: a real thin line between that and saying we're going 324 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 2: to use this physical therapy to treat your you know blank, 325 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 2: whatever medical issue, your diabetes or something. 326 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think what he's reliant upon is that 327 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 1: both to the people who are going to make use 328 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: of his services and to like the people who might 329 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: casually scan this stuff the insurance company. You know, well, 330 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 1: some people get prescribed like a physical therapist, he says, 331 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: These guys are doing physical therapy. Maybe this is like fine, right, 332 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 1: and it's there's so much stuff going on, maybe nobody 333 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: will like notice anything, right, Yeah, they. 334 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 2: Really count on that. They really count on the fact 335 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 2: that this system is so byzantine and like complicated that 336 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 2: like people will just sign off on things and like 337 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 2: and maybe it's working. But it seems like in a 338 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 2: lot of these cases you're telling me, it just they 339 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 2: always get caught. Is it's like people think they're gonna 340 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 2: get away with it because it's so complicated, but eventually 341 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 2: someone's money is missing and they get mad about it. 342 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,639 Speaker 1: The problem is that it all it does work for 343 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: a while, and you can make a lot of money 344 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: off of it. One of the issues these guys have 345 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:26,880 Speaker 1: because of the kinds of people who are bold enough 346 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: to try this in the first place. They're the kinds 347 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 1: of people who get over confident, right, And also, you know, 348 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: one thing to always know, when we talk about these 349 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:37,880 Speaker 1: guys who get caught for every one of them, who 350 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: knows how many people there are who are smarter, right right, 351 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:45,200 Speaker 1: who stay below the line, you know. So, But that's 352 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,920 Speaker 1: his plan, right, clients are going to get free physical 353 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,440 Speaker 1: training sessions and he will get to build the work 354 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:56,919 Speaker 1: of his trainers is actual medical therapy. Right now, I 355 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 1: know what a lot of people are saying, well, how 356 00:17:59,240 --> 00:17:59,640 Speaker 1: is this guy? 357 00:17:59,720 --> 00:17:59,919 Speaker 2: Is this? 358 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:01,520 Speaker 1: I mean, he's a bastard because he had his kid, 359 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: But like this doesn't sound that bad, right, No one 360 00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: really cares if you just scam insurance and if clients 361 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: are able to get free workout sessions, you know, maybe 362 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: that's overall good. We're going to build to the explanation 363 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: of why that's not. But I want to assure you 364 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: all what I have said, it is not fine. He 365 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,000 Speaker 1: is hurting people. He is in fact hurting you if 366 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: you are a member of any of these like this 367 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: is not a victimless crime, right, and it's not a 368 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,199 Speaker 1: crime where the only victim is some like faceless insurance company. 369 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: He is actually hurting a lot of people by doing this, 370 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:33,359 Speaker 1: and we're going to explain why. I just want to 371 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:35,200 Speaker 1: state that so you're not asking the whole time, why 372 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,679 Speaker 1: do we care about people getting free physical personal training? Right? So, 373 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:43,400 Speaker 1: Doc Williams has Cozio removed the phrase personal training from 374 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:45,439 Speaker 1: his website and he starts claim. He claims to his 375 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:47,520 Speaker 1: friend in one of their jail emails, I don't know 376 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 1: why he's allowed to do this from I mean, I 377 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,000 Speaker 1: don't know whatever he says in one of their emails. 378 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: Ninety five percent of my clients are paid for by insurance, 379 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 1: which does not cover personal training. I have to build 380 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: as therapeutic exercise. Steve's contention Cossio, the guy who's his webmasters, like, well, 381 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: I didn't know any of this was illegal, and I 382 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 1: don't trust him because of things like that, because that's 383 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: a guy saying I'm committing a crime, right, yeah, right, 384 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 1: But you know, I must note that the legality of 385 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,879 Speaker 1: anything that involves health insurance is convoluted enough that a 386 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: lot of stuff that seems like it should be a 387 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,719 Speaker 1: crime is legal, like Sophie and I are dealing with 388 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,120 Speaker 1: right now. So I could also get how a guy 389 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: like Casio could just not really understand what's happening. 390 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 2: It's so complicated, it seems like it's a wild West. 391 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:35,199 Speaker 2: It seems like anything can go I get it. I 392 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 2: get how like people would try to get away with this? Yeah. 393 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,000 Speaker 1: On his website, this is how Doc Williams described his 394 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: services to interest In clientele. During your initial consultation, Doctor 395 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 1: Williams will perform a fitness appraisal to determine your current 396 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:53,400 Speaker 1: fitness level. This exam will help determine physiological strength and deficits. 397 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: Doctor Williams will then work with you to set up 398 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 1: an exercise program that will help you meet your goals 399 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 1: and take you through the exercise program to make sure 400 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:02,880 Speaker 1: that you know how to do the exercises and are 401 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: performing them safely. Many of doctor Dave's services are covered 402 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: by medical insurance policies. In choir with Doctor Dave to 403 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: see if you qualify Doctor Dave. 404 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 2: Whenever the doctor goes by his first name, it's from 405 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 2: the guy who goes by doctor Coff. Sometimes it's a 406 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 2: it's a red flag. No. 407 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: The only doctor that I will take advice from is 408 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,440 Speaker 1: doctor Bones. You know from which from the show from 409 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: the show from Star Trek. Yes, Oh, I thought you 410 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:32,600 Speaker 1: meant Bones, the TV show. I don't know, I don't know. No, No, 411 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: not knows much about generation sicknesses. No, that's that's Crusher 412 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: and Pulaski in season two both find doctors Starfleet's best. 413 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: Really one of them a hologram. Well, that's that's a Voyager, Yeah, Voyager. Sorry, yeah, 414 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: I mean he shows up other places too. Speaking of 415 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: Star Trek, Voyager, you know what else is? You know? Yeah? 416 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: You during the earlyats, I don't know, here's ads, We're back, 417 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: did you watch a lot of Voyager Taba? 418 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,879 Speaker 2: I watched a little of the Next Generation, and that 419 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 2: was the only Star Trek I ever watched. I recognized 420 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 2: inherently the difference in how Star Trek is probably intrinsically 421 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:31,439 Speaker 2: a better product than Star Wars. But I am so 422 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 2: simple minded that I could only handle one fandom at 423 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 2: a time. So I was a Star Wars guy, and 424 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,200 Speaker 2: I could only do the Next Generation, which I loved, 425 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 2: by the way, that was fantastic. I think, you know, John, Look, 426 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 2: McCarter is one of the best characters you know on 427 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 2: film or TV. I love the guy, but yeah, I 428 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:50,720 Speaker 2: can't get into the other stuff, Like there was one 429 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 2: with a black hole and yeah, I mean that was 430 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 2: and there was a one where they went to San Francisco, 431 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:58,000 Speaker 2: I saw that one. 432 00:21:58,280 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: And there was the one where they go back in time, 433 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:01,359 Speaker 1: the one with a whale. Ah, that was one of 434 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: the Yeah, go into San Francisco. Yeah, they go. Well, 435 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:07,240 Speaker 1: there's one where they go back in time to save 436 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: the whales. There's one in DS nine where they wind 437 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: up and it's like twenty twenty four riots and stuff. 438 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: And then there's one where they go back in time 439 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 1: to the eighteen hundreds and Mark Twain is a major character. 440 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,120 Speaker 2: That one's a lot of fun. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, 441 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:26,200 Speaker 2: I could see them in the hall room or whatever. Yeah, 442 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:27,880 Speaker 2: they're danger room whatever they called it. 443 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: Oh, no, they're in actual San Francisco in the eighteen 444 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,280 Speaker 1: eighties or whatever. No, they they meet real Mark Twain 445 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 1: and he travels into the future and gets to go 446 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:37,120 Speaker 1: to space. 447 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 2: Fucking actors love playing Mark Twain. They just love playing 448 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:41,959 Speaker 2: Mark Twain. Oh. 449 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,960 Speaker 1: The actor in those episodes playing Twain is just absolutely 450 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:45,960 Speaker 1: chewing the scenery. 451 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 2: He's having a great fucking tea. They love it. 452 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, so we're back now. You can see how a 453 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:54,800 Speaker 1: lot of decent people could fall for this. 454 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 2: Right. 455 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: It's great to be able to have a physical trainer, 456 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: but expensive. You know, some guys like, Hey, your insurance 457 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:02,199 Speaker 1: will pay for it? 458 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:02,800 Speaker 2: Why not? 459 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: And you can even see how it would make sense 460 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:08,120 Speaker 1: to somebody, right, Obviously it's good to work out that 461 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 1: can prevent certain health problems. Maybe my insurance is cool 462 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,960 Speaker 1: with this because they understand it's cheaper for them in 463 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,879 Speaker 1: the long run. Right, you can see how a smart 464 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: person could talk themselves into thinking this is legit. 465 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:20,680 Speaker 2: Right. 466 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 1: The only thing Williams was missing then to like make 467 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: this plan a reality is the one thing that he 468 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:28,800 Speaker 1: jumped to getting as soon as he got out of jail, 469 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: a national provider. Identify your number, right, And now it's 470 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,400 Speaker 1: time to talk about how you can scam an NPI number, right, 471 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 1: because what Malachi and episode one and now what doctor 472 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:45,280 Speaker 1: Williams did is actually really fucking easy. NPIs are handed 473 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: out by the federal government through Medicare. Both individual doctors 474 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,119 Speaker 1: and organizations like clinics have NPIs so they can build 475 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:54,960 Speaker 1: Medicare or a health insurer. And now I'm going to 476 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: turn you back over that pro publica investigation and re quote. 477 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 1: One would thinking an NPI, with its stamp of legitimacy 478 00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: would entail at least some basic vetting. But Williams discovered 479 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: and exploited an astonishing loophole. Medicare doesn't check NPI applications 480 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: for accuracy, a process that should take mere minutes or 481 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: if automated, a millisecond, instead, as one federal prosecutor later 482 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 1: noted in court, Medicare relies on the honesty of applicants. 483 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,439 Speaker 1: Records show Williams first applied for an NPI under his 484 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 1: own name as far back as two thousand and eight, 485 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,280 Speaker 1: but it wasn't until twenty fourteen that Williams began to 486 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: ramp up his scheme. Even though now he wasn't just unlicensed, 487 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: he was a two time felon. He got a second 488 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:42,440 Speaker 1: NPI under the company name Kinistesiology Specialists. The following year, 489 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: he picked up another under Mansfield Therapy Associates. In twenty sixteen, 490 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: he obtained at least to Leffen Moore, often for entities 491 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,880 Speaker 1: he created in the areas where he found fitness clients Dallas, Nevada, 492 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: North Texas, and Moore. By twenty seventeen, he had twenty NPISA, 493 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: allowing him a new stream of billis. 494 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 2: Oh my god, it's funny. I just googled how to 495 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 2: get an NPI number and it's like you get like 496 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,199 Speaker 2: this like National Provider step by step guy, and you 497 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,639 Speaker 2: fill out this application. I don't know if it's changed, 498 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:20,600 Speaker 2: but it doesn't seem that hard. By the way, I'm 499 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 2: going to do this. 500 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:25,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, don't do this, but it's apparently quite easy. So 501 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 1: this is an involved con. That's a lot of paperwork 502 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:31,439 Speaker 1: for a con, but it's not a hard one. In 503 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,479 Speaker 1: order to do this, Williams had to set up an 504 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: ei in or employ your ID number for each NPI. 505 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,440 Speaker 1: Now this is all fraud. But he used his real name, 506 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:45,199 Speaker 1: his real address, the same set of real information for 507 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:46,360 Speaker 1: each application. 508 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 2: Wow. Yeah, and no one caught that. 509 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,840 Speaker 1: No one's looking Like it's not that like to say 510 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:54,879 Speaker 1: no one caught it would mean that like he snuck 511 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 1: through like a dragnet of some sort, Like there's nothing. 512 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,440 Speaker 2: He just did it. Yeah, and nobody looked. 513 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:05,679 Speaker 1: So he described himself as a doctor, but listed that 514 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: he had a PhD, claiming his specialty was in sports medicine. Now, 515 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:12,919 Speaker 1: the actual fraud that he had to do here is 516 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,399 Speaker 1: that he had to provide a fake medical license number. Right, So, 517 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:18,080 Speaker 1: like that is a thing that you think would be 518 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:21,360 Speaker 1: easy to check because you can't fake it easily. I've 519 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: never heard of anyone faking a medical license number. 520 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 2: That's like in the day. 521 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 1: I'm sure you could, like if you're a hacker, maybe, 522 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,040 Speaker 1: but he didn't do that. He just gave them a 523 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,040 Speaker 1: fake number and nobody checked. This would not be hard 524 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: to catch, right if there's like a database, here are 525 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: all the medical license numbers. You check it against it 526 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 1: it's not a real one, you know. I assume there's 527 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:42,360 Speaker 1: probably more to it than that, but they're not even 528 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: doing that, right. So Williams began taking on clients and 529 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,400 Speaker 1: billing insurers like a son of a bitch, and soon 530 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 1: he was raking in millions of dollars a year. He 531 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:56,359 Speaker 1: bought himself a McMansion in cash, several cars and motorcycles, 532 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,280 Speaker 1: and he set to work using some of his new 533 00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:01,640 Speaker 1: founder riches trying to bribe his children's love. And that's 534 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: where he made his first fatal error. He gave his 535 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: kids iPad minis for Christmas twenty thirteen. Now, because the 536 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:13,400 Speaker 1: last time Amy had known anything about her former husband's 537 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,040 Speaker 1: finances before he went to jail again, he had been 538 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: struggling to make ends meet as a personal trainer, so 539 00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:22,040 Speaker 1: she was surprised to see he can suddenly afford several 540 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:26,399 Speaker 1: very expensive electronic toys, right, like a house and a house. 541 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:28,160 Speaker 1: I don't think maybe she doesn't know about the house, 542 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: right she's not living with the guy. But she's like, yeah, 543 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,400 Speaker 1: maybe that's sketchy. That's her first sign that something's weird. 544 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 1: And her second sign is like, a you know a 545 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:36,320 Speaker 1: lot of parents. 546 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 2: I don't know. 547 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: This is a debatable thing, but like, she looks at 548 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:41,760 Speaker 1: her son's new iPad and she notices an app on 549 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: it called I Message, which is you know, you know 550 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,199 Speaker 1: what I messages. I don't have to explain this, and 551 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:49,119 Speaker 1: it's it's got a bunch of new messages in it. 552 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,560 Speaker 1: And she's like, well, why would I, like, I don't know, 553 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 1: teenage little teenage kid, I have a bunch of iye 554 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: messages on this brand new iPad that seems kind of weird. 555 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:01,399 Speaker 1: So I'm not sure how this happened, but I think 556 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 1: Dad had activated these iPads and had like accidentally connected 557 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:14,439 Speaker 1: them to his shit all messages and it's specifically stored 558 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,359 Speaker 1: on this iPad is every communication he had with his 559 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: friend Cozio to set up this fraudulent medical business. 560 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,119 Speaker 2: He hands it to his ex wife. Oh my god, 561 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,320 Speaker 2: Oh my god, she's the worst and he's so successful 562 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 2: at this point. 563 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's funny, like it shows you how easy the 564 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:36,159 Speaker 1: npicon is, that like, this is not a dummy told. Yeah, 565 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: but he's able to figure this shit out so amy. 566 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: You know, she's not a big fan of her ex husband, 567 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: what with the beating and stuff. Goes back to her dad, right, 568 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:50,960 Speaker 1: who also knows this guy's scammer, and her dad, having 569 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 1: some kind of forensic accounting experiences, is able to look 570 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,840 Speaker 1: through this and it takes them a couple of hours 571 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:58,960 Speaker 1: to unravel the whole plot because it's all there in messages, right, 572 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: and including messages from new clients where he is like 573 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,719 Speaker 1: going back and forth. She can see him like setting 574 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: up to bill fraudulently. Like the whole case is here. 575 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: If you hand this to like an FBI agent or whatever, 576 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 1: you're not gonna like ten minutes to throw together a 577 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:15,240 Speaker 1: fucking indictment. 578 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 2: You know, it would not take a lot of time. 579 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 1: Right, Oh my god, here's the thing. His fraudulent business 580 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 1: will keep going for like four years after this point. Now, 581 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 1: how's that possible? 582 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:29,160 Speaker 2: Cave I'm assume, I'm assuming she said, she does she 583 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 2: say something at this point or is she kind of 584 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 2: keeping it under wraps. 585 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:35,760 Speaker 1: She absolutely does not keep it under wraps. She and 586 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 1: her dad know this guy is dangerous and do not 587 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,160 Speaker 1: want him to be doing whatever the fuck con he's doing. 588 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:46,600 Speaker 1: So her dad, once he has again a complete, exceptional, 589 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: very clear list of all the crimes this guy, all 590 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,960 Speaker 1: the fraud this guy is committing, calls Etna. Right, he 591 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 1: gets him on the phone, He's like, should probably report this, 592 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,160 Speaker 1: and he tells EDNA, I want a report a fraud 593 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 1: worth at this point, probably several hundred thousand dollars. And 594 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 1: ETNA says, what's your member number? And he's like, well, 595 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:07,400 Speaker 1: I don't really have a number. I just and they're like, sorry, 596 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 1: only members can report criminal activity. 597 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:12,240 Speaker 2: Hang on the fucking. 598 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 1: Phone now, thankfully, Maybe not thankfully because Etna's dog shit. 599 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: But his daughter is insured by ETNA. Right, what kind 600 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:23,400 Speaker 1: of rule is that the only members can report that 601 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:27,120 Speaker 1: we're being defrauded? Because it seems insane. 602 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 2: What do you do with the FBI? Call? 603 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:31,640 Speaker 1: Sorry, you got to get an agent who's on our 604 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 1: healthcare plan, find someone who's married to somebody with Etna. 605 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 2: Right, that's the stupidest thing. 606 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 1: It's so fucking stupid. They're clearly just trying to get 607 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 1: him off the phone. So he gets his daughter because 608 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,440 Speaker 1: she's insured by etna's and he has her called to 609 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: make the complaint. 610 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 2: Oh we trust you, yeah, her, we trust she's one 611 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:50,600 Speaker 2: of us. 612 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,160 Speaker 1: They take the info from her at least, and then 613 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: nothing happens ever one of theirs again. When all this 614 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: blows up because this guy does get arrested, this becomes 615 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,320 Speaker 1: a big case and pro publicer reaches out to EDNA. 616 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:05,720 Speaker 1: It's like, why didn't you do anything about this fraud tip? 617 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: And they're like, oh, no one ever called us, never happened, 618 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:09,719 Speaker 1: no record of it. 619 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:12,480 Speaker 2: Liars lying, liars. 620 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,400 Speaker 1: Funny, So Pratt and Amy next he's like, well, I 621 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:18,760 Speaker 1: don't know if Ventna's going anywhere, but he is defrauding 622 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: all of the insurance companies. So let's call SIGNA next, right, 623 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: And they provide the same information to SIGNA and they're like, hey, 624 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: one of your providers has no medical license, is saying 625 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: he does. Was in prison twice for different felonies, one 626 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:33,240 Speaker 1: of them. 627 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 2: Violence, multiple multiple identities. 628 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,760 Speaker 1: The least should be a doctor of anyone who shouldn't 629 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 1: have been a doctor. Who ever pretended to be a doctor. Yes, 630 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 1: So next he reaches out to So he does this, 631 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:50,040 Speaker 1: he makes a report there, nothing's going to happen. And 632 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:53,480 Speaker 1: he also reaches out to Southwest Airlines because Southwest they 633 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 1: self fund their health care benefits and thus they pay 634 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: directly for employee care. And Southwest is like, well, we 635 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 1: we paid directly for but we run it through United Healthcare, 636 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: which is this massive two hundred twenty six billion dollar company. 637 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,680 Speaker 1: They administer our benefits. So talk to them. So he 638 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: calls you United Healthcare, and he talks to HR reps 639 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:17,000 Speaker 1: from both Southwest and from United Healthcare. And he first 640 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:18,920 Speaker 1: starts talking to someone from United in the fall of 641 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 1: twenty fourteen, and I'm going to quote again from Pro Publica, 642 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:24,000 Speaker 1: this is what happened. He spoke to a fraud investigator 643 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: who took the information with interest, he said, but within 644 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 1: a couple of weeks he was told she moved to 645 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:32,080 Speaker 1: a different position. Pratt continued calling United over the following 646 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:34,520 Speaker 1: two years, making about a dozen calls in total. He said, 647 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,000 Speaker 1: he is not a doctor. Pratt's told who ever picked 648 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:38,960 Speaker 1: up the phone, So I don't see how he can 649 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 1: be filing claims. Frustrated, Pratt made one final call to 650 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 1: United in twenty sixteen, but he was told the case 651 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: was closed. United said he'd have to call the Texas 652 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:52,040 Speaker 1: Department of Insurance for any additional details. Pratt had already 653 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,800 Speaker 1: filed a complaint with the regulator, but reached out again. 654 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: The department told him that because he hadn't personally been defrauded, 655 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 1: it wouldn't be able to act on his com point. 656 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:06,200 Speaker 2: Wow, what a maddening situation. One guy, one family's trying 657 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 2: to do right, trying. 658 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,720 Speaker 1: To really hard to do the right thing. 659 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 2: And the company is that they're trying to help ostensibly 660 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:15,600 Speaker 2: are wanting no part. 661 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:17,880 Speaker 1: Of it because at this point, but by the way, 662 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 1: this this guy makes millions, he is defrauding them for 663 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,640 Speaker 1: what do a regular Again, it's nothing to these companies. 664 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:25,680 Speaker 1: I just said, United do It a twenty six billion 665 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:29,400 Speaker 1: dollar company. But this isn't pocket change, right, Yeah, but. 666 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,920 Speaker 2: It's so funny like they focus so much about small 667 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:36,960 Speaker 2: amounts of money to them. Yeah, in every other case, 668 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:38,360 Speaker 2: if you're trying. 669 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,120 Speaker 1: To get an inhaler that costs one hundred and fifty 670 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 1: bucks as opposed to one hundred and twenty dollars for example, 671 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 1: They'll fight you to the ends of the earth. 672 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 2: They will send you to prison if they have to. Yes, 673 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,880 Speaker 2: like in this company that this one guy who's making 674 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 2: millions off of them, they don't do anything. But that is maddening. No, 675 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 2: it's not maddening. 676 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: So I bet you're all wondering at this point what 677 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:02,080 Speaker 1: the fuck right because you know it doesn't make sense, 678 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:04,480 Speaker 1: because we expect these companies to be greedy and this 679 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 1: guy's stealing from them, right, Like, why aren't they doing anything? 680 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:08,600 Speaker 2: Right? 681 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,479 Speaker 1: Well, you're not the only person wondering what the fuck 682 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: is going on at this point. The good people at 683 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:17,239 Speaker 1: Pro Publica are wondering that too, and the journalists who 684 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: reported on the Williams case, and again we'll conclude his case. 685 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:23,360 Speaker 1: He does eventually get arrested. But the journalists who reported 686 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,720 Speaker 1: on this several years ago was a guy named Marshall 687 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:30,400 Speaker 1: Allen Right published in late twenty nineteen, but he carries 688 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:34,439 Speaker 1: out a different investigation kind of inspired by he sees 689 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:36,480 Speaker 1: what's happening with Williams, and he's like, why the fuck 690 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:39,360 Speaker 1: do none of these companies want to do anything. 691 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:40,080 Speaker 2: To stop this? 692 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,319 Speaker 1: Why is it so easy to commit fraud and let 693 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:45,600 Speaker 1: have an insurance company, let you get away with it. 694 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:50,360 Speaker 1: And the conclusion of this further the second investigation he 695 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,920 Speaker 1: publishes is that insurance companies have no interest in stopping 696 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:56,319 Speaker 1: or even being aware of most of the fraud that 697 00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: happens on their networks. 698 00:34:57,719 --> 00:34:57,919 Speaker 2: Right. 699 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:00,279 Speaker 1: They do not care and they do not want to 700 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:04,400 Speaker 1: be told about it. This may seem counterintuitive to you. Again, 701 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:08,680 Speaker 1: these are very greedy or famously greedy organizations, and medical 702 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:11,240 Speaker 1: fraud is estimated to make up at least ten percent 703 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:13,960 Speaker 1: of the one point two trillion dollars in health insurance 704 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,560 Speaker 1: spending this year. Right, that's not an insignificant amount of money. 705 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:19,560 Speaker 1: Wouldn't they want to stop that? 706 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:20,040 Speaker 2: Right? 707 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 1: Well, Marshall reaches out to United as well as part 708 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:26,719 Speaker 1: of this later investigation, and here's what he writes. A 709 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,920 Speaker 1: United spokesperson said, I couldn't speak to a fraud investigator 710 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:32,320 Speaker 1: because we do not want to make that information public 711 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 1: that would make it easier for those intent on engaging 712 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:36,720 Speaker 1: in fraud to commit these crimes. 713 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:37,359 Speaker 2: She said. 714 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:41,440 Speaker 1: The insurer uses analytics to flag potentially fraudulent billing and 715 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:45,040 Speaker 1: in some cases physically verifies that medical offices exist with 716 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: that scant response. I plunged into the daunting thicket of 717 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,839 Speaker 1: agencies that are supposed to oversee the fight against health 718 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 1: care fraud, each divided by region and responsibility. I contacted 719 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,880 Speaker 1: insurance regulators in every state and interviewed more than fifty 720 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,520 Speaker 1: other experts, including prosecutors, sames, analysts, and a dozen former 721 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:05,160 Speaker 1: investigators for the internal fraud units of private insurers. Far 722 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:08,800 Speaker 1: from being fierce guardians of your healthcare dollars, experts told me, 723 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:11,560 Speaker 1: the big name insurers who sell their own plans or 724 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:14,640 Speaker 1: are paid to manage employers, pick and choose their battles, 725 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:17,239 Speaker 1: and for a variety of reasons, fraud is not a 726 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:18,440 Speaker 1: top responsibility. 727 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:21,600 Speaker 2: You know what's weird is they'll cite fraud as one 728 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,360 Speaker 2: of the reasons that, like costs are so high, so like, 729 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:29,080 Speaker 2: you know, to not choose it as something to focus 730 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:31,520 Speaker 2: on is strange. 731 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:34,439 Speaker 1: You know, it seems strange. It's all gonna make sense, 732 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:37,160 Speaker 1: evil sense. And I do want to shout out again 733 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:40,600 Speaker 1: Marshall Allen, the pro public investigator. The article he wrote 734 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:43,400 Speaker 1: on Doc Williams is very good. The article he writes 735 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,080 Speaker 1: on why fraud doesn't get investigated, It's one of the 736 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,880 Speaker 1: best pieces of medical journalism i've ever read. It's a 737 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:53,239 Speaker 1: really really good article. Infuriating, but it's very good. Now, 738 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,719 Speaker 1: I want to look at the numbers here, kavem right, 739 00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:59,000 Speaker 1: because that really helps tell the story of how little 740 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:03,239 Speaker 1: these companies care about fraud. So, California, obviously is the 741 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:06,560 Speaker 1: most populous state in the Union. There are about fourteen 742 00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:10,399 Speaker 1: point four million Californians on private insurance, which is something 743 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 1: like ten percent of the nation's total. So Mitchell asked 744 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:17,680 Speaker 1: a simple question, calling DA's offices in the counties that 745 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:20,720 Speaker 1: cut all of the Basicsly, he calls every DA's office 746 00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:23,839 Speaker 1: in California for the counties that cover about eighty percent 747 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:27,239 Speaker 1: of the state's population, which is a representative sample, we 748 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:29,880 Speaker 1: can say, right, and he asks eats of these das, 749 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:34,600 Speaker 1: how often did fraud cases referred by commercial insurers lead 750 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:37,680 Speaker 1: to criminal charges in twenty seventeen and eighteen. 751 00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:42,759 Speaker 2: You have a guess because of this, I'm gonna say, like, 752 00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:44,320 Speaker 2: I don't know, twenty percent. 753 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:49,799 Speaker 1: The number is twenty two, twenty two total times. 754 00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:51,680 Speaker 2: I won't say that because I knew where we were 755 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:55,040 Speaker 2: heading with this. Yeah, I wouldn't before this thought much higher. 756 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:59,000 Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, obviously something is fucked up here right. Last episode, 757 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:03,280 Speaker 1: we discussed a story of nightmarish medicaid fraud. About thirteen 758 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:06,960 Speaker 1: million Californians are on Medicaid. During the same period of 759 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 1: time twenty seventeen to twenty eighteen, the state fraud unit 760 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,120 Speaker 1: filed criminal charges against three hundred and twenty one people 761 00:38:13,239 --> 00:38:16,240 Speaker 1: for defrauding Medicaid and recovered nearly one hundred million dollars. 762 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,600 Speaker 1: So three hundred and twenty one people are charged for 763 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:22,680 Speaker 1: medical fraud through Medicaid. About the same number of people 764 00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:24,840 Speaker 1: are under private insurance, and the number of people charged 765 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:25,560 Speaker 1: is twenty two. 766 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:26,840 Speaker 2: Wow. 767 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:30,239 Speaker 1: That gives you an idea of how not on the 768 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:33,279 Speaker 1: ball the private insurance companies are right. There is no 769 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,280 Speaker 1: reason to believe medicaid fraud is less common than corporate 770 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,880 Speaker 1: insurance fraud or more common either. They seem to be 771 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,799 Speaker 1: probably pretty similar levels. Mitchell looks at other states and 772 00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:47,120 Speaker 1: he finds similar discrepancies. In Minnesota, private insurers preferred two 773 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:50,600 Speaker 1: cases of fraud de regulators in twenty seventeen and five 774 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:55,000 Speaker 1: and twenty eighteen. Meanwhile, state medicaid fraud investigators carried out 775 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:58,439 Speaker 1: six hundred investigations and got one hundred and thirty four 776 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:03,200 Speaker 1: indictments in Georgia. Only three of the top ten insurers 777 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:06,360 Speaker 1: reported any fraud at all in twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen. 778 00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,239 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're better there, They're so good. 779 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:13,160 Speaker 1: Everyone's very honest in charging good. It's all the peaches. 780 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:17,960 Speaker 1: So what the fuck is going on? Well, investigations cost money, 781 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:22,200 Speaker 1: and soda is pursuing court cases. From the insurance company's perspective, 782 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,640 Speaker 1: that's all wasted money because the money that they're being 783 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:31,160 Speaker 1: defrauded for, they're not actually out because they could just 784 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:36,600 Speaker 1: increase your rates and copays to make more money. So 785 00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:40,680 Speaker 1: that makes more sense than investigating and stopping fraud. Will 786 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:44,440 Speaker 1: just charge our customers more. They have to pay. They 787 00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:47,200 Speaker 1: don't have a choice. This isn't something where they can 788 00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:50,040 Speaker 1: shop around. We'll just fuck them more and then we 789 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:51,960 Speaker 1: don't have to worry about stopping fraud. 790 00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:56,680 Speaker 2: Holy shit, Holy shit, doesn't that make you? It a 791 00:39:56,800 --> 00:40:00,840 Speaker 2: burned down a building, and this is I'm sure this 792 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:05,000 Speaker 2: is only one percent of why insurance companies are awful. 793 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:07,160 Speaker 2: Will we look at the whole thing, not the main reason. 794 00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:11,840 Speaker 2: But this is so bad infuriating. 795 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:15,239 Speaker 1: Yes, So that's what I meant when I said, like 796 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,359 Speaker 1: there's a real harm to what Doc Williams is doing 797 00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,080 Speaker 1: because when he brags that these these physical training sessions 798 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:22,680 Speaker 1: are free to the consumer, that's not really true. Everybody 799 00:40:22,719 --> 00:40:24,560 Speaker 1: in the state is paying more because it is going 800 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:26,960 Speaker 1: to raise their rates to compensate for this kind of shit. 801 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:30,520 Speaker 2: It's honest. Yeah, not a victimless crime because not the 802 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:32,720 Speaker 2: insurance companies will find a way to make their money. 803 00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:34,359 Speaker 2: No way they're going to miss it. 804 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:36,960 Speaker 1: There are, in fact, some victimless crimes out there, but 805 00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:41,279 Speaker 1: defrauding insurance is not one of them. Being a fake 806 00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:44,600 Speaker 1: doctor is a victim full crime right now. It is 807 00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:46,799 Speaker 1: very fucked up, and well Williams is a bastard for 808 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:48,359 Speaker 1: a number of reasons. I hope I've made it clear 809 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:50,880 Speaker 1: that the insurers are the real bastards. Here in the 810 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:54,040 Speaker 1: state of Washington. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner, who 811 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,560 Speaker 1: investigates these things, got only one report of fraud in 812 00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:01,200 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen from Primira blue Cross US, a major insurer 813 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:03,920 Speaker 1: from Era, told Mitchell the Pro public A guy when 814 00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:07,760 Speaker 1: he investigated that they don't report fraud unless there's criminal intent, 815 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:10,520 Speaker 1: which is weird because it's fraud. 816 00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:12,680 Speaker 2: They say it's criminal. 817 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:17,319 Speaker 1: Yeah, they say, they try to educate perpetrators instead. So 818 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:21,800 Speaker 1: we do have the enlightened Star Trek future justice system 819 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,399 Speaker 1: somewhere in this country. It's only an health insurance. Oh 820 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:26,840 Speaker 1: my god, isn't that nice? 821 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:29,000 Speaker 2: Oh my god. They're trying to reform. 822 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:31,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, you get it, that's yeah, And they will try. 823 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:33,359 Speaker 1: One thing they'll try to do is put people on 824 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:36,160 Speaker 1: repayment plans. And this there's a degree of since this 825 00:41:36,239 --> 00:41:38,040 Speaker 1: makes if it's a case where you've got a real 826 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:41,160 Speaker 1: doctor who just tries to get over something and he 827 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:43,640 Speaker 1: scams him in of a couple of grand because he's 828 00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:46,560 Speaker 1: in a tight spot. Instead of trying to go after 829 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:49,319 Speaker 1: that guy criminally, they'll, you know, just try to have 830 00:41:49,400 --> 00:41:51,640 Speaker 1: him repay what he took, right, which in that case 831 00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:54,560 Speaker 1: makes a degree of sense. But there's two things happening here. 832 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:56,799 Speaker 1: One is that they don't report this at all to 833 00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,200 Speaker 1: the government, so the government cannot see none of these 834 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:04,040 Speaker 1: regulators enforcement cannot see are there broader patterns of fraud 835 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:08,160 Speaker 1: that are maybe evidence of organized crime. And number two, 836 00:42:08,719 --> 00:42:11,879 Speaker 1: they don't really discriminate between him. Maybe this doctor who's 837 00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:14,400 Speaker 1: a real doctor slipped up once and did a bad 838 00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:17,560 Speaker 1: thing versus this guy's not a doctor at all, because 839 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:20,040 Speaker 1: they just don't actually care the. 840 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,840 Speaker 2: Fact that these dummies got away with it for so 841 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:28,160 Speaker 2: long and were finally stopped at some point, probably because 842 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:30,600 Speaker 2: of the relentless nature of his father in law. Is 843 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:33,000 Speaker 2: ex father in law just goes to prove how much 844 00:42:33,040 --> 00:42:36,240 Speaker 2: more is probably being done by smart people. 845 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,640 Speaker 1: Oh god, by smart huge crime, smart people who like 846 00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:43,239 Speaker 1: don't wind up pissing off like this her father or 847 00:42:43,239 --> 00:42:46,200 Speaker 1: her dad sounds like he's fucking cool and the track 848 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:50,200 Speaker 1: record on the an iPad and leaving a huge track record. 849 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:52,920 Speaker 1: But you know who never records their crimes on an 850 00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:56,640 Speaker 1: iPad that they didn't give to the children that they hit. 851 00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:57,720 Speaker 2: Oh my god. 852 00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:00,440 Speaker 1: The people who I said they don't do it. 853 00:43:00,719 --> 00:43:03,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're too smart. They're too smart for it because 854 00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:05,640 Speaker 2: they're smart and inherently good. 855 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:09,400 Speaker 1: And they're inherently moral actors, just like everyone who is 856 00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:20,479 Speaker 1: legally or medically involved with this podcast. Anyway, Ah, we're back. 857 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:23,880 Speaker 1: So I just was talking about Washington. How like Premire's 858 00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:27,040 Speaker 1: justification for not reporting frauds, We only do it if 859 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:29,960 Speaker 1: there's criminal intent. We try to educate perpetrators, you get 860 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:32,480 Speaker 1: him to repay. And this is what's going to happen 861 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:35,279 Speaker 1: to Doc Williams right when he finally gets caught for 862 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:37,480 Speaker 1: the first time. It has nothing to do with his 863 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:40,360 Speaker 1: ex wife and her father and alth the documented fraud 864 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:43,760 Speaker 1: on that iPad, But instead a client of his personal 865 00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:48,240 Speaker 1: training service, a Southwest flight attendant named Nannette Bishop. Bishop, 866 00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:51,120 Speaker 1: got referred to Doc by a coworker, and she, you know, 867 00:43:51,160 --> 00:43:53,040 Speaker 1: does a couple of sessions, but she stops working out 868 00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:56,239 Speaker 1: with them, right, Maybe they don't click, or maybe she just, 869 00:43:56,280 --> 00:43:58,120 Speaker 1: you know, she gets too busy. She's, you know, a 870 00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:01,839 Speaker 1: flight attendant, busy job, right, So she goes a couple 871 00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:04,120 Speaker 1: of times and then stops. And then one day she's 872 00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:07,480 Speaker 1: checking her insurance records and again it's just a crapshoot 873 00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:09,920 Speaker 1: that like somebody checked on that, because I don't know 874 00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:13,040 Speaker 1: that I've ever looked into mind, right, And she sees 875 00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:16,759 Speaker 1: that Williams has continued billing her company for dozens of sessions, 876 00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:19,640 Speaker 1: even during periods where she had been out of the country, 877 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:23,360 Speaker 1: like working. So she reaches out to Williams. First, I 878 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:25,360 Speaker 1: think her assumption is like, there's maybe there's got to 879 00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:27,319 Speaker 1: be some fuck up, maybe his computer fucked up, right, 880 00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:30,879 Speaker 1: and it just kept auto billing or something, and she's like, hey, 881 00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,360 Speaker 1: you know I didn't do these sessions. You should probably 882 00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:35,839 Speaker 1: return this money to my insurer so they don't raise 883 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:39,320 Speaker 1: my rates. And you know, when he doesn't do anything, 884 00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:42,720 Speaker 1: she eventually reports it to her insurer and Signa sends 885 00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:46,719 Speaker 1: Williams a letter saying, hey, we just realized you're not 886 00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:49,000 Speaker 1: a doctor and you have built us for one hundred 887 00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:50,800 Speaker 1: and seventy five thousand dollars. 888 00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:54,799 Speaker 2: Please get it back. I would love to see that letter. 889 00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:57,480 Speaker 2: I would love to see his response to that letter too. 890 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:01,439 Speaker 1: Contra to what insurres like Primara like to claim, there's 891 00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:03,879 Speaker 1: no way this could have been anything but criminal fraud. 892 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:05,760 Speaker 1: There's not a chance that this is in good faith 893 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:09,239 Speaker 1: because he doesn't have a medical license. You can't lie 894 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:11,920 Speaker 1: about having a medical license and bill for almost two 895 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:14,600 Speaker 1: hundred grand and care. So that's committing a felony, right, 896 00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:15,680 Speaker 1: that's felonies. 897 00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:16,640 Speaker 2: Yeah. 898 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:19,600 Speaker 1: So, but Signa just sends Williams a bill, so we 899 00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:23,239 Speaker 1: starts making payments. But he also switches over to a 900 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,440 Speaker 1: fresh NPI number under the same name and keeps billing 901 00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:32,080 Speaker 1: Signa and paying. Yes, yes, my god, they give him 902 00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:34,360 Speaker 1: more than one hundred thousand dollars. A year later, he 903 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:36,160 Speaker 1: owes them three hundred and ten grand. 904 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:39,840 Speaker 2: Right. He's like, sure, I'll pay it, but I'm out 905 00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:42,640 Speaker 2: them by changing this. I'm gonna have her paid for 906 00:45:42,719 --> 00:45:47,880 Speaker 2: her own thing. It's fantastic, my god, uh huh so funny. 907 00:45:48,120 --> 00:45:50,799 Speaker 1: So stories like this are far from unheard of. Pro 908 00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:54,400 Speaker 1: Publica spoke to a former fraud prosecutor, a guy named Elliott, 909 00:45:54,560 --> 00:45:56,480 Speaker 1: who claims that a big part of the problem is 910 00:45:56,480 --> 00:45:59,680 Speaker 1: that private insurers don't just ignore fraud, they fight the 911 00:45:59,680 --> 00:46:02,239 Speaker 1: govern when the Feds try to investigate it. 912 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:03,240 Speaker 2: Quote. 913 00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:07,319 Speaker 1: When private insurers pitched the occasional case, Elliott said, prosecutors 914 00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:09,640 Speaker 1: had to weigh whether the insurer would fully cooperate with 915 00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:13,239 Speaker 1: the investigation. Federal prosecutors dig into the details when they 916 00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:15,800 Speaker 1: get referrals, he said, they might want to broaden a case, 917 00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:18,840 Speaker 1: which would create more work for the insurer or sully 918 00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:22,320 Speaker 1: its reputation, or prosecutors might find out the insurer was 919 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:24,960 Speaker 1: not doing its job certain things they wanted you to 920 00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,120 Speaker 1: know about, and certain things they didn't want you to 921 00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:30,919 Speaker 1: know about, he said. The private insurers, Elliott said, seem 922 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:34,520 Speaker 1: to prefer to close cases quietly, cutting off the fraudster 923 00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:37,800 Speaker 1: and pursuing repayment, But he said that allows the scammer 924 00:46:37,880 --> 00:46:41,239 Speaker 1: to go on cheating others. That's not fraud enforcement, he said, 925 00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:44,160 Speaker 1: it's an accounting mechanism. Again, we don't give a shit 926 00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:47,640 Speaker 1: who else this person hurts. If they're prescribing, if we 927 00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:51,080 Speaker 1: don't care if they're faking, if they're like tricking people 928 00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:53,839 Speaker 1: into thinking they have Alzheimer's, those people kill themselves. As 929 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:54,920 Speaker 1: long as we cut. 930 00:46:54,719 --> 00:46:56,240 Speaker 2: Them off from billing us, we're good. 931 00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:58,919 Speaker 1: You know, they've done the math. The math works out 932 00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:05,440 Speaker 1: for them. Care ship just this. Yeah, so it's. 933 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:09,200 Speaker 2: The worst people are in charge of the most important ship. 934 00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:13,160 Speaker 1: And absolutely this should be like a central concern of 935 00:47:13,200 --> 00:47:17,160 Speaker 1: our entire society. And instead we're like, who's the biggest psychopaths? 936 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:20,200 Speaker 1: Who's someone who's like just on this edge of like 937 00:47:20,360 --> 00:47:24,440 Speaker 1: skinning animals for fun, Like, let's put them in charge 938 00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:24,920 Speaker 1: of it, right? 939 00:47:25,040 --> 00:47:27,919 Speaker 2: Are they good numbers? Put them? That's what we were Yeah. 940 00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:30,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, And honestly, I think skinning animals for fun is 941 00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:35,360 Speaker 1: probably like less harmful than this. Yeah, let's less damage 942 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:37,680 Speaker 1: than what these people are doing. There's more of a 943 00:47:37,719 --> 00:47:39,000 Speaker 1: sickness at play here. 944 00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:41,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, we don't recommend doing that either. By the way, 945 00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:42,560 Speaker 2: people were not. 946 00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:45,640 Speaker 1: Like saying skin don't skin animal, but maybe skin health 947 00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:52,040 Speaker 1: insurance executives for fun A couples around that. See what happens, Yes, 948 00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:55,560 Speaker 1: see what happens. Yeah, that could be we could we 949 00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:59,480 Speaker 1: could rehabilitate the skinning animals for fun people by sticking 950 00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:04,279 Speaker 1: them on health insurance executives. I want like one of 951 00:48:04,280 --> 00:48:06,759 Speaker 1: those like Iraq War deck of cards, and it's just 952 00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:09,520 Speaker 1: the c suites for all of the fucking big insurance. 953 00:48:11,360 --> 00:48:14,879 Speaker 1: So obviously there's a tremendous degree of societal harm here. 954 00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:18,080 Speaker 1: By holding off on reporting this stuff and actively obvius 955 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:22,120 Speaker 1: skating investigations, private insurers make it harder for regulators to 956 00:48:22,160 --> 00:48:26,040 Speaker 1: spot patterns and effectively identify scams or bust people who 957 00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:29,920 Speaker 1: are conning Americans. Right, Remember, Williams is just scanning money 958 00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:32,600 Speaker 1: for PT, so the harm he's doing to people here 959 00:48:33,080 --> 00:48:35,759 Speaker 1: is less than like what the Jenkinses are doing. But like, 960 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:38,680 Speaker 1: there's other people doing what the jenkins is are doing, 961 00:48:38,840 --> 00:48:41,400 Speaker 1: and they're allowed to hide for years and harm people 962 00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:45,960 Speaker 1: because insurers are helping them hide. The most difficult cases 963 00:48:46,040 --> 00:48:48,440 Speaker 1: to catch are the folks who carefully figure out the 964 00:48:48,440 --> 00:48:51,359 Speaker 1: threshold of money under which an insurer will ignore them 965 00:48:51,360 --> 00:48:55,480 Speaker 1: and avoid billing to Egregiously, Williams got caught because he 966 00:48:55,600 --> 00:48:58,320 Speaker 1: was sloppy. He was billing people who had stopped going 967 00:48:58,360 --> 00:48:58,719 Speaker 1: to him. 968 00:48:58,920 --> 00:48:59,120 Speaker 2: Right. 969 00:49:00,160 --> 00:49:01,800 Speaker 1: Lie it about having a medical license. 970 00:49:01,880 --> 00:49:02,000 Speaker 2: Right. 971 00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:04,200 Speaker 1: But if he'd had a real MD and still have 972 00:49:04,280 --> 00:49:06,800 Speaker 1: been doing this fraud, and if he hadn't been quite 973 00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:09,200 Speaker 1: so dumb about it, he probably could have kept doing 974 00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:12,920 Speaker 1: it forever. Likewise, if both Jenkins's rather than just the 975 00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:16,080 Speaker 1: husband had been MD's, she might have gotten away with it. 976 00:49:16,440 --> 00:49:19,400 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, there's not a zero percent chance. You know. 977 00:49:20,760 --> 00:49:23,680 Speaker 1: There are other calculations at play here too. Per that 978 00:49:23,800 --> 00:49:28,280 Speaker 1: second Pro Publica investigation quote, other investigators say targeting suspect 979 00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:31,400 Speaker 1: medical providers and facilities puts the insurers in the dilemma. 980 00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:33,920 Speaker 1: They need a certain number of doctors and hospitals and 981 00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:37,040 Speaker 1: their networks to make plans attractive to employers. They also 982 00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:39,839 Speaker 1: must ensure patients have access to the care they need. 983 00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:43,600 Speaker 1: So apparently I learned there's a calculation that goes on if, 984 00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:46,760 Speaker 1: for instance, you're the only neurologist in town, your fraud 985 00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:47,680 Speaker 1: may be forgiven. 986 00:49:48,719 --> 00:49:56,320 Speaker 2: Wow, great, oh my god, oh my, that is amazing. Yeah, 987 00:49:56,440 --> 00:50:01,360 Speaker 2: that's mean. I mean there's jobs, security and medicine, folks. 988 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:06,200 Speaker 2: For any young people out there considering lifestyle and considering 989 00:50:06,200 --> 00:50:10,120 Speaker 2: what they'll do with their lives. I mean, it goes approve. 990 00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:14,640 Speaker 2: You can make a good money being a doctor, and 991 00:50:14,800 --> 00:50:18,399 Speaker 2: if you're really sort of a go getter, you can 992 00:50:18,480 --> 00:50:22,960 Speaker 2: defraud health insurance for millions of dollars. Yeah. 993 00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:24,839 Speaker 1: And you know, if you want to do a little 994 00:50:24,840 --> 00:50:27,000 Speaker 1: bit of defrauding health insurance and a little bit of 995 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:30,040 Speaker 1: writing me prescriptions for delatted, who's to know, you know, 996 00:50:30,160 --> 00:50:32,120 Speaker 1: it could be between between the two of us. 997 00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:33,719 Speaker 2: I'm not getting my. 998 00:50:35,200 --> 00:50:38,719 Speaker 1: Medical listeners. Yeah, Cave won't do it, but one of 999 00:50:38,719 --> 00:50:43,120 Speaker 1: you will hit us up on the subreddit if you'll 1000 00:50:43,239 --> 00:50:48,440 Speaker 1: prescribe me to lauded. That's a joke legally speaking. So 1001 00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:52,279 Speaker 1: Williams keeps getting in trouble with insurers right at the 1002 00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:56,439 Speaker 1: next Finally, and then United Healthcare, and this is where 1003 00:50:56,440 --> 00:50:59,560 Speaker 1: the story gets baffling. United it sent more than six 1004 00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:02,680 Speaker 1: hundred house and dollars in payments to Williams over the years, 1005 00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:05,200 Speaker 1: and then they realize he doesn't have a medical license, 1006 00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:08,480 Speaker 1: they demand he pay them back, which makes a degree 1007 00:51:08,520 --> 00:51:11,400 Speaker 1: of sense. But this demand includes an offer. They're like, 1008 00:51:11,680 --> 00:51:15,600 Speaker 1: if you don't reply, we will pay ourselves back out 1009 00:51:15,640 --> 00:51:18,840 Speaker 1: of future billings that you file. In other words, we 1010 00:51:19,080 --> 00:51:22,239 Speaker 1: know you're not a we know you're not a doctor. 1011 00:51:22,760 --> 00:51:25,600 Speaker 1: You know who you are a doctor, but if you 1012 00:51:25,719 --> 00:51:28,640 Speaker 1: keep pretending to be one, we'll take it out of 1013 00:51:28,719 --> 00:51:29,840 Speaker 1: your future billing. 1014 00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:33,440 Speaker 2: My god, you know us. 1015 00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:41,359 Speaker 1: You just absolutely you can't even parody the evil here. 1016 00:51:42,080 --> 00:51:45,440 Speaker 1: So this even is rather academic because again he just 1017 00:51:45,520 --> 00:51:48,359 Speaker 1: keeps switching in pis. He's got a bunch of them right, 1018 00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:50,440 Speaker 1: whenever he gets caught, he's like the borg. 1019 00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:51,839 Speaker 2: Right, you shoot him. 1020 00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:54,239 Speaker 1: Once and they get hit, and then you shoot him again, 1021 00:51:54,239 --> 00:51:55,920 Speaker 1: and there's shields of remodulated. 1022 00:51:56,200 --> 00:52:01,000 Speaker 2: That's what he's doing. All of every thought. 1023 00:52:00,840 --> 00:52:02,879 Speaker 1: I have is filtered through the lens of Star Trek, 1024 00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:04,120 Speaker 1: the next generation Kava. 1025 00:52:04,800 --> 00:52:08,000 Speaker 2: That's just the way it is. That's cool, that makes sense. 1026 00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:11,080 Speaker 1: Quote in all, United paid Williams more than three point 1027 00:52:11,080 --> 00:52:14,680 Speaker 1: two million dollars, most of it after the insurer had 1028 00:52:14,719 --> 00:52:18,000 Speaker 1: caught him in the act, but in reality the losses 1029 00:52:18,040 --> 00:52:20,640 Speaker 1: weren't all Uniteds. Most of the fraud was funded by 1030 00:52:20,680 --> 00:52:23,839 Speaker 1: its clients Southwest. It's just not worth it to them. 1031 00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:26,080 Speaker 1: Said doctor Eric bricker An in turn, is who spent 1032 00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:29,280 Speaker 1: years running a company that advised employers who self funded 1033 00:52:29,280 --> 00:52:33,319 Speaker 1: their insurance, and perhaps Kenner. Intuitively, insurance companies are loath 1034 00:52:33,360 --> 00:52:36,560 Speaker 1: to offend physicians and hospitals, and they're all important networks, 1035 00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:40,719 Speaker 1: even those accused of wrongdoing. Many experts have said, so, 1036 00:52:40,760 --> 00:52:43,239 Speaker 1: the reasons for this are complicated, and it's more than 1037 00:52:43,320 --> 00:52:46,560 Speaker 1: purely bastardy on behalf of insurers, but that is at 1038 00:52:46,560 --> 00:52:47,319 Speaker 1: the center of it. 1039 00:52:47,520 --> 00:52:47,800 Speaker 2: Now. 1040 00:52:48,400 --> 00:52:52,040 Speaker 1: Doctor Williams is eventually fully caught, not by an insurer 1041 00:52:52,040 --> 00:52:54,800 Speaker 1: but by the FBI, in part because of the tireless 1042 00:52:54,800 --> 00:52:57,040 Speaker 1: reporting of his ex wife and her father, all of 1043 00:52:57,080 --> 00:52:59,920 Speaker 1: these different insurers who keep catching him and like this 1044 00:53:00,280 --> 00:53:03,239 Speaker 1: keep they don't give up, and eventually, somewhat at the 1045 00:53:03,320 --> 00:53:05,879 Speaker 1: FBI puts two and two together and it's like, oh, hey, 1046 00:53:06,000 --> 00:53:06,640 Speaker 1: freak conviction. 1047 00:53:07,160 --> 00:53:11,960 Speaker 2: They've got everything on the iPad. Great. I wonder if 1048 00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:14,399 Speaker 2: at this point he was still just doing it because 1049 00:53:14,400 --> 00:53:16,400 Speaker 2: he felt like he was sort of stuck and he 1050 00:53:16,440 --> 00:53:18,799 Speaker 2: had to pay the insurance companies and he was like 1051 00:53:18,960 --> 00:53:20,600 Speaker 2: he felt like he had to just keep doing it, 1052 00:53:20,719 --> 00:53:22,160 Speaker 2: or if he thought he was really gonna get away 1053 00:53:22,160 --> 00:53:22,279 Speaker 2: with it. 1054 00:53:22,960 --> 00:53:25,279 Speaker 1: He's just kind of dumb because like a smart guy, 1055 00:53:25,320 --> 00:53:27,680 Speaker 1: you got four million dollars at that age you're kind 1056 00:53:27,719 --> 00:53:30,760 Speaker 1: of middle aged. You move to Ecuador somewhere that doesn't 1057 00:53:30,760 --> 00:53:33,680 Speaker 1: extra out. You can live off that. You know, that 1058 00:53:33,760 --> 00:53:37,160 Speaker 1: didn't go into prison. But like the Dwarves of Moria, 1059 00:53:37,280 --> 00:53:41,040 Speaker 1: he delved too deeply and too greedily. The star Trek 1060 00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:43,960 Speaker 1: are we talking, No, that's a Lord of the Rings reference. 1061 00:53:45,280 --> 00:53:48,239 Speaker 2: I'm a specific type of nerd, Robert, I'm a very 1062 00:53:48,239 --> 00:53:49,480 Speaker 2: specific type of nerd. 1063 00:53:49,880 --> 00:53:53,080 Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, So he gets sentenced. He goes to prison 1064 00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:56,839 Speaker 1: for a while, more than nine years, so good, he 1065 00:53:56,840 --> 00:53:59,400 Speaker 1: gets punished. None of the guys at any of the 1066 00:53:59,400 --> 00:54:01,360 Speaker 1: insurance cups get punished. 1067 00:54:00,960 --> 00:54:01,479 Speaker 2: But he does. 1068 00:54:01,920 --> 00:54:06,279 Speaker 1: And uh that's good now, Covet. This whole story is 1069 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:10,160 Speaker 1: a real bummer to contemplate, right, kind of sad, kind 1070 00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:12,400 Speaker 1: of depressing. So I want to end the story of 1071 00:54:12,440 --> 00:54:14,960 Speaker 1: one more fake doctor. This does not really tie into 1072 00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:17,239 Speaker 1: the NPI stuff, but maybe it'll leave everybody in a 1073 00:54:17,280 --> 00:54:19,880 Speaker 1: better mood because it's kind of like a good story 1074 00:54:19,920 --> 00:54:20,880 Speaker 1: of a fake doctor. 1075 00:54:20,920 --> 00:54:24,239 Speaker 2: It's a redemption arc. I'm listening doctor. Yeah. 1076 00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:27,920 Speaker 1: So his name is Adam Litwin and he is now 1077 00:54:28,200 --> 00:54:31,759 Speaker 1: a real MD too, But as a boy, Adam grew 1078 00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:34,600 Speaker 1: up in all of his grandfather, a pediatrist, and he 1079 00:54:34,680 --> 00:54:38,000 Speaker 1: wanted desperately to be a doctor himself. As a teenager, 1080 00:54:38,040 --> 00:54:39,960 Speaker 1: he would wear a beeper and pretend to be getting 1081 00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:43,800 Speaker 1: texts from patience, which was maybe a warning sign weird. 1082 00:54:44,320 --> 00:54:48,040 Speaker 2: I'm sorry, weird. Yeah, that is weird. Should not become 1083 00:54:48,040 --> 00:54:51,160 Speaker 2: a doctor. That is a red flag if I've ever 1084 00:54:51,239 --> 00:54:53,880 Speaker 2: heard one. You don't. Nobody wants to have a pager. 1085 00:54:53,960 --> 00:54:58,320 Speaker 2: They're the worst thing. It's an electronic leash that gets 1086 00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:01,439 Speaker 2: hugged around your neck. In love with the worst thing 1087 00:55:01,480 --> 00:55:04,680 Speaker 2: about being a doctor. Oh my god, oh god. 1088 00:55:04,840 --> 00:55:07,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's like joining the army and being like, yeah, 1089 00:55:07,520 --> 00:55:09,560 Speaker 1: finally I'm in the army. I'm going to get to 1090 00:55:09,640 --> 00:55:10,719 Speaker 1: file paperwork. 1091 00:55:11,160 --> 00:55:15,719 Speaker 2: God, I get to run through luod Yes. Well no, 1092 00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:18,400 Speaker 2: then people do like yeah that. 1093 00:55:18,920 --> 00:55:21,479 Speaker 1: So after high school he goes to San Jose State 1094 00:55:21,560 --> 00:55:23,600 Speaker 1: and then he transfers to Saint Louis to get into 1095 00:55:23,600 --> 00:55:26,719 Speaker 1: the pre med program, which included clinical rotations, and he 1096 00:55:26,760 --> 00:55:30,200 Speaker 1: does some actual clinical rotations, and he describes this as 1097 00:55:30,239 --> 00:55:32,799 Speaker 1: the happiest moment of his life. Right he is he 1098 00:55:32,880 --> 00:55:34,520 Speaker 1: feels like this is exactly where I meant to be. 1099 00:55:34,600 --> 00:55:36,640 Speaker 1: It's what I want to do. And then that portion 1100 00:55:36,880 --> 00:55:40,479 Speaker 1: of schooling ends and he gets depressed. Right the way 1101 00:55:40,560 --> 00:55:42,960 Speaker 1: he describes it, he just wanted to I think there 1102 00:55:42,960 --> 00:55:44,839 Speaker 1: may be a little bit of mental illness going on here. 1103 00:55:44,840 --> 00:55:47,040 Speaker 1: He wanted to be a doctor so bad that he 1104 00:55:47,560 --> 00:55:50,960 Speaker 1: couldn't focus on actually finishing school to become one. 1105 00:55:51,840 --> 00:55:52,480 Speaker 2: It's weird. 1106 00:55:52,680 --> 00:55:54,520 Speaker 1: His actions don't make a lot of if if he's 1107 00:55:54,600 --> 00:55:57,239 Speaker 1: purely acting logically, I don't know why you wouldn't go 1108 00:55:57,320 --> 00:55:58,480 Speaker 1: through medical school. 1109 00:55:58,960 --> 00:55:59,720 Speaker 2: But he doesn't. 1110 00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:02,880 Speaker 1: He just drops out and he moves to California, and 1111 00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:05,080 Speaker 1: he starts spending all of us time in the UCLA 1112 00:56:05,160 --> 00:56:09,200 Speaker 1: Medical Library reading medical textbooks. Here's how the La Times 1113 00:56:09,239 --> 00:56:12,880 Speaker 1: describes what happens next. At some point, someone mistook him 1114 00:56:12,920 --> 00:56:15,720 Speaker 1: for a resident, and he didn't correct them, he said, instead, 1115 00:56:15,800 --> 00:56:18,280 Speaker 1: he made up a backstory that he began to widely share. 1116 00:56:18,600 --> 00:56:21,279 Speaker 1: He was a surgery resident who had recently transferred from 1117 00:56:21,280 --> 00:56:24,839 Speaker 1: a nearby hospital. Litwin was twenty six, about the same 1118 00:56:24,880 --> 00:56:27,759 Speaker 1: age as most doctors in training. For months he fooled them. 1119 00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:30,840 Speaker 1: He ate lunch in the cafeteria at UCLA Medical Center 1120 00:56:30,880 --> 00:56:35,440 Speaker 1: and he watched doctors perform complicated surgeries allowed because senior 1121 00:56:35,480 --> 00:56:39,279 Speaker 1: doctors thought he was a physician. Litwyn claims now that 1122 00:56:39,360 --> 00:56:41,839 Speaker 1: he never treated anyone doing this and he was never 1123 00:56:42,120 --> 00:56:43,680 Speaker 1: caught treating a patient. 1124 00:56:44,120 --> 00:56:44,480 Speaker 2: Again. 1125 00:56:44,960 --> 00:56:47,360 Speaker 1: I've run into a couple of cases. It's one of 1126 00:56:47,360 --> 00:56:49,719 Speaker 1: those things where like Malachi makes the same claim. I 1127 00:56:49,800 --> 00:56:51,960 Speaker 1: wonder if the hospitals are kind of just protecting their 1128 00:56:51,960 --> 00:56:54,759 Speaker 1: asses and they don't really want anyone to know I have. 1129 00:56:55,160 --> 00:56:57,560 Speaker 1: I didn't include them because we're talking about the US here, 1130 00:56:57,560 --> 00:56:59,640 Speaker 1: but I ran into some fake doctors who scammed the 1131 00:56:59,719 --> 00:57:02,640 Speaker 1: NA over in the UK, who noted that like a 1132 00:57:02,680 --> 00:57:05,000 Speaker 1: really good way to be a fake doctor is to 1133 00:57:05,080 --> 00:57:07,440 Speaker 1: be part of like a team of doctors consulting on 1134 00:57:07,480 --> 00:57:09,000 Speaker 1: it case because you don't actually have to get in 1135 00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:11,120 Speaker 1: there and physically do anything. You can just kind of 1136 00:57:11,160 --> 00:57:14,719 Speaker 1: like provide like talk, right, and that that's easy to get, 1137 00:57:14,760 --> 00:57:16,960 Speaker 1: easier to get away with, right, And that does kind 1138 00:57:16,960 --> 00:57:18,680 Speaker 1: of make sense to me that like maybe that's all 1139 00:57:18,680 --> 00:57:22,080 Speaker 1: he was doing, whether or not when actually treated anyone. 1140 00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:25,200 Speaker 1: He did other stuff. He used the doctor's parking lot 1141 00:57:25,280 --> 00:57:27,760 Speaker 1: with a borrowed pass, He stole a key to get 1142 00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:31,000 Speaker 1: into the residence lounge. He slept in the on call rooms, 1143 00:57:31,200 --> 00:57:33,760 Speaker 1: and he seems to have really loved all this stuff around, 1144 00:57:33,920 --> 00:57:37,560 Speaker 1: actually practicing medicine along with the medicine. 1145 00:57:37,240 --> 00:57:41,440 Speaker 2: Which is like davish. He's like, I love the cafeteria food, 1146 00:57:41,880 --> 00:57:44,360 Speaker 2: I love sleeping in the shitty call rooms. 1147 00:57:44,960 --> 00:57:47,320 Speaker 1: It's like someone being like, God, one day, I'm going 1148 00:57:47,360 --> 00:57:50,400 Speaker 1: to be a professional podcaster and I'll finally get to 1149 00:57:50,440 --> 00:57:53,800 Speaker 1: put an SD card into an SD slot, the dream 1150 00:57:53,920 --> 00:57:57,520 Speaker 1: that I've had in my whole life transferring files from 1151 00:57:57,600 --> 00:57:58,919 Speaker 1: one machine to the other. 1152 00:58:00,720 --> 00:58:06,440 Speaker 2: So weird, So weird. Man doctor, Yeah, doing rounds and helping. 1153 00:58:06,240 --> 00:58:08,760 Speaker 1: Patients is awesome to sleep at work sometimes. 1154 00:58:09,080 --> 00:58:11,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the part that we like live with because 1155 00:58:11,560 --> 00:58:13,480 Speaker 2: of all the other stuff that we do. You know, 1156 00:58:13,600 --> 00:58:16,440 Speaker 2: we don't very strange. You don't go into it for that. 1157 00:58:17,120 --> 00:58:18,640 Speaker 2: The page the. 1158 00:58:18,480 --> 00:58:23,400 Speaker 1: Patriot thing is so unhinged. So eventually he gets caught. 1159 00:58:23,400 --> 00:58:26,880 Speaker 1: What claims it takes nine months, prosecutors say six. Either way, 1160 00:58:26,920 --> 00:58:28,600 Speaker 1: he gets away with us for a while, and because 1161 00:58:28,640 --> 00:58:32,040 Speaker 1: he does know a lot right, he's legitimately well educated. 1162 00:58:32,120 --> 00:58:35,120 Speaker 1: He's read and re read tons of medical textbooks, so 1163 00:58:35,160 --> 00:58:37,560 Speaker 1: he's able to fake. And he's like the right age too, 1164 00:58:37,600 --> 00:58:39,320 Speaker 1: So you can't just look at him and be like, well, 1165 00:58:39,320 --> 00:58:44,080 Speaker 1: that's obviously a small child in a costume. His downfall 1166 00:58:44,160 --> 00:58:47,840 Speaker 1: comes when a pharmacist realizes that he's forged prescriptions for 1167 00:58:47,960 --> 00:58:50,960 Speaker 1: cough medicine and tranquilizers using the name of a real 1168 00:58:51,000 --> 00:58:54,480 Speaker 1: doctor who shared his last name. Litwin claims the prescriptions 1169 00:58:54,480 --> 00:58:58,120 Speaker 1: were for a friend, which, sure, buddy, all of our 1170 00:58:58,160 --> 00:59:02,200 Speaker 1: illegal drugs are for a friend. What a dumb mistakes 1171 00:59:02,200 --> 00:59:03,400 Speaker 1: A dumb mistake. 1172 00:59:03,680 --> 00:59:06,320 Speaker 2: If he had written, like you know, with toopralol or 1173 00:59:06,360 --> 00:59:10,440 Speaker 2: some some blood pressure medicine or some like diabetes medicine, 1174 00:59:10,440 --> 00:59:14,320 Speaker 2: probably he gab a penton script or some shit well 1175 00:59:14,400 --> 00:59:17,800 Speaker 2: like fucking going for anything that's controlled. What a stupid mistake. 1176 00:59:18,280 --> 00:59:20,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, it is a dumb mistake. They catch him, and 1177 00:59:20,960 --> 00:59:23,919 Speaker 1: at age twenty eight, he pled guilty to three misdemeanors 1178 00:59:24,400 --> 00:59:27,480 Speaker 1: forging a prescription, chief among them. He was sentenced to 1179 00:59:27,560 --> 00:59:30,400 Speaker 1: six months of counseling and two months in jail, which 1180 00:59:30,400 --> 00:59:33,560 Speaker 1: he served. And normally this would either be the start 1181 00:59:33,640 --> 00:59:36,280 Speaker 1: of an arc of a bunch of other cons or 1182 00:59:36,440 --> 00:59:39,000 Speaker 1: maybe he would sheepishly go back to regular life, but 1183 00:59:39,040 --> 00:59:42,120 Speaker 1: that's actually not what he does. He stays in therapy 1184 00:59:42,320 --> 00:59:45,760 Speaker 1: after the six months of counseling that he was mandated 1185 00:59:45,800 --> 00:59:49,160 Speaker 1: to do, and like keeps working on himself. He moves 1186 00:59:49,200 --> 00:59:51,520 Speaker 1: back home. He said in interviews that like he realized 1187 00:59:51,560 --> 00:59:55,000 Speaker 1: afterwards that he had narcissistic tendencies, which is probably part 1188 00:59:55,000 --> 00:59:57,120 Speaker 1: of why he didn't actually go through with medical school. 1189 00:59:57,120 --> 00:59:58,960 Speaker 1: While he felt like he could fake it, and he 1190 00:59:59,120 --> 01:00:03,200 Speaker 1: like ex about himself and works on it. He gets 1191 01:00:03,240 --> 01:00:05,680 Speaker 1: into business with his grandfather who is a doctor, and 1192 01:00:05,720 --> 01:00:08,040 Speaker 1: he's running the books for their health care company. But 1193 01:00:08,080 --> 01:00:10,840 Speaker 1: he doesn't do anything about Like, he's not treating patients. 1194 01:00:10,840 --> 01:00:14,560 Speaker 1: He's just handling like finance and stuff. Occasionally he would 1195 01:00:14,640 --> 01:00:17,720 Speaker 1: keep lying about being a doctor. In his personal life, 1196 01:00:17,800 --> 01:00:20,200 Speaker 1: he like lies to his first wife about being I 1197 01:00:20,240 --> 01:00:25,480 Speaker 1: think a chi cardiologist, and she divorces him. Right, but 1198 01:00:25,720 --> 01:00:26,520 Speaker 1: you get that far. 1199 01:00:26,600 --> 01:00:30,560 Speaker 2: How do you marry him and not know he's got 1200 01:00:30,600 --> 01:00:31,840 Speaker 2: to be good? I mean, I assume he's. 1201 01:00:31,680 --> 01:00:34,520 Speaker 1: Probably good at it, right, He's probably so, but you know, 1202 01:00:34,600 --> 01:00:37,200 Speaker 1: he apparently like comes to terms with the fact that 1203 01:00:37,200 --> 01:00:39,560 Speaker 1: that was fucked up. And two years after the divorce 1204 01:00:39,680 --> 01:00:42,800 Speaker 1: and now middle aged, Litwin enrolls himself in the Saint 1205 01:00:42,880 --> 01:00:44,200 Speaker 1: James School of medicine. 1206 01:00:44,240 --> 01:00:44,479 Speaker 2: Now. 1207 01:00:45,080 --> 01:00:48,320 Speaker 1: Saint James is a for profit medical school. It is 1208 01:00:48,560 --> 01:00:51,680 Speaker 1: very expensive, but nowhere else is going to take him, right, 1209 01:00:53,200 --> 01:00:54,960 Speaker 1: I think it's in the Caribbean. It is a from 1210 01:00:55,000 --> 01:00:57,760 Speaker 1: what I can tell, it's a real medical school. They 1211 01:00:57,840 --> 01:01:00,280 Speaker 1: do teach you to be at their degrees or recognized, 1212 01:01:00,600 --> 01:01:02,400 Speaker 1: but it's the kind of place where like, if you 1213 01:01:02,480 --> 01:01:05,320 Speaker 1: can't get in anywhere else, all they care about is 1214 01:01:05,320 --> 01:01:08,080 Speaker 1: that you have money, right, And that's for him, that's 1215 01:01:08,120 --> 01:01:09,360 Speaker 1: the only option, right. 1216 01:01:09,240 --> 01:01:11,600 Speaker 2: He's not going to get into a regular medical school. 1217 01:01:12,320 --> 01:01:14,320 Speaker 1: And I looked at some like I found like a 1218 01:01:14,360 --> 01:01:16,960 Speaker 1: doctor in Quorra who was like, yeah, it's like an 1219 01:01:17,040 --> 01:01:19,280 Speaker 1: okay school, but the only reason you'd go there is 1220 01:01:19,320 --> 01:01:21,280 Speaker 1: if you can't get in anywhere else. And it makes 1221 01:01:21,280 --> 01:01:23,040 Speaker 1: sense to me, like, yeah, where else is it when 1222 01:01:23,120 --> 01:01:23,520 Speaker 1: gonna go? 1223 01:01:23,680 --> 01:01:23,880 Speaker 2: Right? 1224 01:01:24,400 --> 01:01:27,840 Speaker 1: But he goes to medical school and he graduates, right, 1225 01:01:27,880 --> 01:01:30,560 Speaker 1: he has an MD. He now lives in Chicago. He 1226 01:01:30,680 --> 01:01:35,040 Speaker 1: does medical school, he does his rotations at least in Chicago, 1227 01:01:35,760 --> 01:01:38,400 Speaker 1: but he can't finish right, And as far as I know, 1228 01:01:38,440 --> 01:01:39,880 Speaker 1: I don't think he has finished it because he can't 1229 01:01:39,880 --> 01:01:42,880 Speaker 1: do his residency. Because to do a residency you have 1230 01:01:42,920 --> 01:01:46,120 Speaker 1: to get accepted somewhere as a resident and anyone one 1231 01:01:46,160 --> 01:01:48,560 Speaker 1: of the things. When he goes to Chicago to do 1232 01:01:48,600 --> 01:01:52,520 Speaker 1: his medical school rotations, there's like this whatever board handles that. 1233 01:01:52,560 --> 01:01:54,520 Speaker 1: There's this big debate about it, and what they decide 1234 01:01:54,600 --> 01:01:58,040 Speaker 1: is like, well, let him do his rotations, but we're 1235 01:01:58,080 --> 01:01:59,880 Speaker 1: going to put a note on his record about what 1236 01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:01,680 Speaker 1: he did in the past so that anyone who is 1237 01:02:01,720 --> 01:02:04,560 Speaker 1: going to take him knows it. And at this point, 1238 01:02:04,720 --> 01:02:06,880 Speaker 1: I think the last story I ran into him was 1239 01:02:06,880 --> 01:02:09,880 Speaker 1: in like twenty twenty one, a couple of years after graduation, 1240 01:02:10,000 --> 01:02:13,040 Speaker 1: he still had not gotten his residency. I don't know 1241 01:02:13,080 --> 01:02:14,480 Speaker 1: if he's gotten it yet. I don't know if he 1242 01:02:14,480 --> 01:02:16,800 Speaker 1: ever will, but like it is at least a story 1243 01:02:16,840 --> 01:02:19,200 Speaker 1: of growth. This is the one fake doctor who did 1244 01:02:19,200 --> 01:02:20,720 Speaker 1: He did get an MD, you know. 1245 01:02:21,080 --> 01:02:24,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, it sounds like there's some legitimate like he must 1246 01:02:24,320 --> 01:02:28,040 Speaker 2: have had some legitimate issue that prevented him from finishing. 1247 01:02:28,080 --> 01:02:29,880 Speaker 2: I don't know what it was, you know, Yeah, No, 1248 01:02:31,040 --> 01:02:34,200 Speaker 2: but yeah, that is Actually it does seem like he's 1249 01:02:34,320 --> 01:02:35,760 Speaker 2: trying to do the thing. 1250 01:02:35,920 --> 01:02:38,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, and he's trying to do the right thing, yeah, 1251 01:02:38,640 --> 01:02:42,320 Speaker 1: in his own way. Yeah, it's what I can't blame 1252 01:02:42,560 --> 01:02:44,240 Speaker 1: any hospital for being like, no, we're not going to 1253 01:02:44,320 --> 01:02:46,680 Speaker 1: take this guy as a resident. But I just because 1254 01:02:46,720 --> 01:02:49,440 Speaker 1: of my belief in like the fact that people can 1255 01:02:49,520 --> 01:02:52,120 Speaker 1: be better and like be redeemed, I do hope he 1256 01:02:52,200 --> 01:02:53,160 Speaker 1: gets a chance. 1257 01:02:53,800 --> 01:02:55,800 Speaker 2: Like that's interesting. Yeah, I'm curious to know where he 1258 01:02:55,840 --> 01:02:59,440 Speaker 2: is now. I'm fascinated, Like, yeah, if he is, just 1259 01:02:59,560 --> 01:03:02,840 Speaker 2: like he's like some small town somewhere. 1260 01:03:04,000 --> 01:03:08,680 Speaker 1: For it, there's certainly not enough doctors. So my hope 1261 01:03:08,760 --> 01:03:10,880 Speaker 1: is that like he figures it out and is able 1262 01:03:10,880 --> 01:03:11,800 Speaker 1: to like help people. 1263 01:03:13,320 --> 01:03:15,080 Speaker 2: The thing is, you need to do a residency. I 1264 01:03:15,120 --> 01:03:18,720 Speaker 2: mean medical school you learn a lot, but you don't 1265 01:03:19,080 --> 01:03:22,560 Speaker 2: learn really how to take care of patience until you do, 1266 01:03:22,800 --> 01:03:25,280 Speaker 2: like your residency. That's when you're like really in charge 1267 01:03:25,280 --> 01:03:27,880 Speaker 2: of it. So I I mean, I'd really fascinated to 1268 01:03:27,880 --> 01:03:29,720 Speaker 2: see how he does that. I mean, he's better than 1269 01:03:29,720 --> 01:03:32,320 Speaker 2: the Malachi kid. The Malachi kid, like you can't expect 1270 01:03:32,400 --> 01:03:34,920 Speaker 2: him to have like on his white coat like FBI 1271 01:03:35,080 --> 01:03:38,080 Speaker 2: Female Body Inspector or something like that on it. Like 1272 01:03:38,160 --> 01:03:40,760 Speaker 2: that guy was a creep. This guy, at least I 1273 01:03:40,760 --> 01:03:44,800 Speaker 2: get the sense that his intentions are are good. Yeah, 1274 01:03:44,840 --> 01:03:47,400 Speaker 2: and he wants to be a doctor, which I can 1275 01:03:47,440 --> 01:03:48,160 Speaker 2: always respect. 1276 01:03:48,480 --> 01:03:52,480 Speaker 1: It seems like he's also like accepted his mistakes and 1277 01:03:52,520 --> 01:03:55,520 Speaker 1: like why he made them, Like, oh, that was like narcissism, 1278 01:03:55,560 --> 01:03:57,680 Speaker 1: That's why I did that. That's not a reasonable or 1279 01:03:57,720 --> 01:04:02,120 Speaker 1: an okay thing to do. So yeah, I hope, I 1280 01:04:02,160 --> 01:04:04,960 Speaker 1: hope things go well with that. It's at least a 1281 01:04:05,080 --> 01:04:07,400 Speaker 1: nice story to end on, Like it's a story of 1282 01:04:07,440 --> 01:04:10,600 Speaker 1: somebody who's shown some capacity for growth and change, as 1283 01:04:10,600 --> 01:04:13,640 Speaker 1: opposed to the health insurance industry, which only has the 1284 01:04:13,680 --> 01:04:17,120 Speaker 1: capacity to grow in the same sense that a tumor grows. 1285 01:04:19,080 --> 01:04:22,600 Speaker 2: Some listener out there is like, my doctor's name is 1286 01:04:22,640 --> 01:04:24,520 Speaker 2: Adam Littwin Mine. 1287 01:04:27,520 --> 01:04:32,040 Speaker 1: Yeah maybe, ah cave, how you doing? 1288 01:04:32,240 --> 01:04:34,120 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me. It's like every 1289 01:04:34,200 --> 01:04:36,439 Speaker 2: time I get the coming show, I feel like I'm 1290 01:04:36,760 --> 01:04:40,200 Speaker 2: like a listener who won a contest, and it's very 1291 01:04:40,280 --> 01:04:41,960 Speaker 2: nice to be here. It's very nice to talk to you. 1292 01:04:42,120 --> 01:04:45,680 Speaker 2: I'm so glad that the field that I've dedicated my 1293 01:04:45,720 --> 01:04:48,200 Speaker 2: whole life to and lost my twenties and thirties to 1294 01:04:48,440 --> 01:04:51,160 Speaker 2: can provide you so much horrible, horrible content. 1295 01:04:51,960 --> 01:04:55,200 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, No, we have feasted off of the 1296 01:04:55,640 --> 01:04:59,640 Speaker 1: off of the wealth of bastardrey that surrounds this. Yeah, 1297 01:04:59,680 --> 01:05:03,840 Speaker 1: it's it's it's like anything that is absolutely crucial to 1298 01:05:04,240 --> 01:05:09,080 Speaker 1: survival and also complicated and hard to understand will be 1299 01:05:09,360 --> 01:05:13,640 Speaker 1: targeted by real pieces of shit. Ye, it's the same 1300 01:05:13,680 --> 01:05:16,160 Speaker 1: reason why there's all sorts of like scams and unethical 1301 01:05:16,160 --> 01:05:18,800 Speaker 1: shit with like the big ag and all like the 1302 01:05:18,840 --> 01:05:21,640 Speaker 1: way subsidies and shit work. Right, everybody needs food, most 1303 01:05:21,640 --> 01:05:24,080 Speaker 1: people don't understand how to make it. Yeah, right, great 1304 01:05:24,080 --> 01:05:27,400 Speaker 1: place for a con artists to live that void. 1305 01:05:27,480 --> 01:05:30,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's the one thing that's the 1306 01:05:30,080 --> 01:05:32,880 Speaker 2: most important thing that we're terrible at. And yeah, and 1307 01:05:32,960 --> 01:05:35,080 Speaker 2: it's in so many ways, on so many levels. 1308 01:05:35,480 --> 01:05:38,560 Speaker 1: But thank you for continuing to be the good part 1309 01:05:38,600 --> 01:05:42,760 Speaker 1: of that thing, and thank you listeners for continuing to 1310 01:05:42,800 --> 01:05:46,520 Speaker 1: be good people. And again, well, well we'll put a 1311 01:05:46,560 --> 01:05:49,240 Speaker 1: po box. We'll plug that in after the episode. If 1312 01:05:49,240 --> 01:05:51,520 Speaker 1: you do get a delauded script and you just want 1313 01:05:51,520 --> 01:05:55,560 Speaker 1: to help out your boy, what Sophie, Sophie, it's not 1314 01:05:55,760 --> 01:06:00,200 Speaker 1: illegal to receive delauded in the mail, I assume bo. 1315 01:06:00,560 --> 01:06:01,920 Speaker 2: Wait, yeah, we should check that. 1316 01:06:02,160 --> 01:06:03,120 Speaker 1: We should probably check that. 1317 01:06:03,560 --> 01:06:09,640 Speaker 2: Don't send Robert things. Listen to my podcast instead, the 1318 01:06:09,640 --> 01:06:10,520 Speaker 2: House of pod do that. 1319 01:06:10,640 --> 01:06:10,920 Speaker 1: Do that? 1320 01:06:11,400 --> 01:06:15,160 Speaker 2: Don't send. Don't send fentanyl or drugs via the mail. 1321 01:06:15,200 --> 01:06:18,880 Speaker 2: If you are not a large hospital, prescribing pharmacy, or 1322 01:06:18,880 --> 01:06:21,280 Speaker 2: anything along those lines. Listen to my podcast The House 1323 01:06:21,280 --> 01:06:22,760 Speaker 2: of Pod instead. Yeah. 1324 01:06:23,120 --> 01:06:26,320 Speaker 1: One of our listeners is the hospital from the show House, 1325 01:06:27,560 --> 01:06:31,040 Speaker 1: so I hope they take that to heart. Anyway, I 1326 01:06:31,040 --> 01:06:33,280 Speaker 1: forget the name of that Robert. This podcast is so 1327 01:06:33,440 --> 01:06:37,800 Speaker 1: over yeah, just like House. 1328 01:06:41,280 --> 01:06:44,200 Speaker 2: Behind the Bastards is a production of cool Zone Media. 1329 01:06:44,320 --> 01:06:46,959 Speaker 2: For more from cool Zone Media, visit our website cool 1330 01:06:47,040 --> 01:06:50,960 Speaker 2: Zonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 1331 01:06:51,080 --> 01:06:53,520 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.