NEWARK, N.J. — A Colorado man who owned an allergy practice in Holmdel has been indicted on charges that he helped bill Medicare and private insurers for allergy shots that were prepared and planned without a licensed physician, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Clarence “Lance” Cutsforth, 58, of Buffalo Creek, Colorado, faces one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud in a six-count indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said.
Cutsforth made his initial appearance Oct. 21 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak in federal court in Denver and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
Cutsforth owned and directed Integrated Ancillary Services in Holmdel. From October 2020 to April 2023, he allegedly conspired with Dr. Kevin Chongsup Kim, Jin Andrew Kim and a physician identified in the indictment only as “Doctor 1” to bill for allergen immunotherapy shots even though no licensed physician examined the patients or prepared or supervised the shots, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said Cutsforth, who is not a licensed physician, identified patients who tested positive for allergies, set their treatment plans and prepared the doses himself.
To conceal his role, Cutsforth allegedly did not bill insurers directly. Instead, claims were submitted by a practice owned by Kevin Kim under the credentials of Kim or Doctor 1, sometimes covering up to a year’s supply of shots that patients did not want or never received, prosecutors said. Jin Andrew Kim was the practice manager responsible for insurance billing, according to the indictment.
“As alleged, this Defendant engaged in an elaborate scheme to enrich himself and his co-conspirators by submitting bogus claims to health insurers, including Medicare, for allergy shots that patients did not need or receive,” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said. “These charges further demonstrate our Office’s dedication to protecting American taxpayers by rooting out fraud, waste and abuse in the health care system.”
Kevin Kim, 58, of Holmdel, and Jin Andrew Kim, 62, of Middletown, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi to a two-count information charging conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to make false statements related to health care matters. Both are awaiting sentencing.
If convicted, Cutsforth faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on each count and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
FBI special agents in Newark, under Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert L. Toll of the office’s Health Care Fraud and Opioids Enforcement Unit is prosecuting, with help from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett J. Schuman.
Kevin Kim is represented by attorney Bruce Levy, and Jin Andrew Kim is represented by attorney John Azzarello.
The charges are accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This report is based on information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office press release
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