Bethlehem chiropractor pleads guilty to filing $236,000 in fraudulent health insurance claims

A Bethlehem chiropractor has pleaded guilty in federal court to fraudulently submitting $236,000 in health insurance claims for patients he didn’t see and days he didn’t work, authorities said.

Nicholas Bufanio, 53, of Hellertown, who has operated Community Chiropractic Inc. in Bethlehem since at least 2011, pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Bufanio was convalescing at home from November 2017 to December 2018, but during this period submitted bogus claims to health insurers under pretense of keeping normal office hours and treating patients.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor-Employee Benefits Security Administration.

Morning Call reporter Andrew Scott can be reached at 610-820-6508 or [email protected].

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