Navy doctor pleads guilty to conspiracy insurance fraud scheme

| April 1, 2023

Michael Villaroel pleaded guilty for his involvement with an insurance fraud scheme. He signed off on exaggerated or bogus claims. These claims resulted in the receipt of $2 million worth of insurance. Villarroel takes full responsibility for these actions. As of the linked article, he has 19 years of service under his belt.

From military.com:

According to prosecutors, the doctor admitted that from 2012 through December 2015, he conspired with others, including a construction mechanic in the Navy and the mechanic’s wife – a Navy nurse.

Prosecutors said the mechanic — who pleaded guilty in 2022 for his role – prodded other military members into filing claims with the Traumatic Servicemembers Groups Life Insurance program, which provides tax-free lump payments from $25,000 to $100,000 for injured service members.

Participants in the scheme claimed to have injured themselves in several ways, including a vehicle crash or a fall from a ladder or a horse or during a training exercise, according to court documents.

Prosecutors accused the doctor of signing off on several false insurance claims, knowing they were fraudulent. Sometimes he provided the medical records of other people unrelated to the case but who had been injured in accidents similar to those named in the bogus insurance claim, the government alleged.

Military.com has the rest of the article.

Category: fraud, Navy

17 Comments
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NHSparky

I’m actually surprised the VA doesn’t pay docs to declare injuries not service related.

NHSparky

Oof…dupe. Apologies.

AW1Ed

You too?
*grin*
Medice, cura te ipsum.

jeff LPH 3 63-66

WTF is wrong with these Mil Docs. My late Uncle never did anything like this shit bird did. Unk. was also a Vet who landed at Omaha Beach. He also studied medicine before the war in Egypt and became a Cairo Practor…

M48DAT

Don’t ever wonder why insurance is so jacked up and people in need have to jump through hoops. He wants to throw his whole life away for the almighty dollar, fuck him.

MarineDad61

Uhhh,
What’s the current schedule for retirement pay
for an O-5 with 19 years?

Asking, because MarineDad61 has a son half way there.

Last edited 11 months ago by MarineDad61
Prior Service

Enough that pissing it away is pretty stupid!

MarineDad61

Prior Service,
Just wanted to confirm,
that barring any unusual circumstances
(criminal convictions not included),
the answer is $0.

AW1Ed

Wondered where you were going with this.

MarineDad61

AW1Ed,
“barring some unforeseen incident”….
1 of the funniest Seinfeld “barring” events ever.

Prior Service

Depends on manner of separation. Typically there is some amount of sanctuary after 18 yos. Someone could be separated, or legal proceedings take long enough to allow retirement at last grade of honorable service (presumably prior to the fraud). As a prior enlisted officer I’ll say that unfortunately Os are allowed too much legal leeway.

Anonymous

He’ll stretch it out to 20 with all the legal proceedings, don’t worry.

Green Thumb

I wonder if Dr. Michael Villaroel runs the aid station at All-Points Logistics?

Maybe he got tired of the pay or prescribing All-Points Logistics personnel illegal prescriptions and decided to get paid another way?

Or maybe, he got tired of signing off on Phil Monkress’s (CEO of All-Points Logistics) bullshit “disability” claims and decided to get paid another way?

Who knows?

Hatchet

Guess Vile-Villaroel decided to try and collect his retirement funds early and instead, will now be retired to a not-so nice Greybar Hotel.. Nineteen years, down the drain. Idjit.

Carlton

My “Cynical Sally” side tells me that whatever sentence the mechanic (presumably an enlisted man) gets, his wife (likely a jr/mid careers ossifer) will get half that sentence…the dr (a senior ossifer) will get the same sentence the mechanic gets but it will all be suspended. Spanks/Ranks and all that.

A Proud Infidel®™

19 mudda-fuckin’ years down the drain, likely his license to practice as well. Tell us “Doc”, was it really worth it?

KoB

Dumbass ran his suck for waaaay yonder too long. PHUQUE HEEM! Oh, wait…That will be the job of the Boys in Cell Block D.