Brookline, Waltham Physical Therapy Clinic Owner Found Guilty In $300K Fraud Scheme

BROOKLINE, MA — A South Korean national who owned physical therapy clinics in Brookline, Waltham and other Greater Boston communities was convicted of two counts of health care fraud in federal court on Wednesday after the U.S. Attorney's Office said he submitted more than $300,000 in false claims for appointments that never took place.

Chang Goo Yoon owned the physical therapy clinics in Allston, Waltham and Brookline between 2014 and 2018. Prosecutors said he billed clients for appointments that were purported to be on days when he was traveling to South Korea, Los Angeles and Toronto.

Court documents said he billed $50,000 in claims on days he was gambling at the Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City, N.J., MGM Springfield and Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. Prosecutors also said he submitted claims for himself after three car accidents in which he listed one of his employees falsely as the physical therapist, and claims in which he listed himself as his own physical therapist.

"Chang Goo Yoon orchestrated a brazen scheme, abusing his position of trust as a health care provider to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments for work he did not do," FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen said. "This conviction sends an unambiguous message that anyone who cheats our health care system will not get away with it."

Yoon is scheduled for sentencing on May 8. He was arrested and charged in February 2021 and indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2021.

"Mr. Yoon repeatedly lied and billed for services he never provided," U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward said. "Actions which were fueled by nothing more than his greed.

"It is our hope that this case serves as a warning to others who may use the U.S. mail to further their criminal activities."