In his plea agreement, Claustro admitted defrauding the state’s Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund, part of the workers’ compensation system that provides benefits to injured workers with preexisting disabilities.
Claustro paid Do to prepare medical reports, prosecutors said. The scheme involved using other doctors’ names on billing forms and reports. Prosecutors pegged the loss at about $38,670 and said the state paid more than $3 million in billings submitted by the company.
Do hired a medical professional to conduct patient evaluations, but that person died of natural causes in December 2021, prosecutors said. Afterward, Claustro continued to pay Do for medical evaluations, medical record reviews and preparation of med-legal reports, according to prosecutors.
The $38,670 loss was determined to be the amount Claustro paid Do “after defendant became aware that co-schemer Do was actually providing the services,” prosecutors said in the plea agreement.
Do also admitted failing to report $66,227 in income on his 2021 tax return. The income was paid to an entity he controlled rather than directly to him to conceal the fraud, prosecutors said.