Psychologist Not Guilty in Fraud Case

A psychologist has been acquitted of insurance fraud charges resulting from a highly publicized 1994 sting operation, officials said Thursday.

After a nine-day trial, a Superior Court jury on Wednesday found Gary R. Rick not guilty of three counts of fraud and two counts of paying for patient referrals, also known as “capping,” said Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Terence Kilbride.

Rick was one of 11 people charged in the undercover operation, known as Operation What’s Up Doc, that was conducted by the Ventura County district attorney’s office. The defendants also included five chiropractors, one of whom was a reserve police officer, two attorneys, two office managers and a patient, Kilbride said.

Seven of the defendants earlier pleaded guilty to various crimes, including capping and overbilling. Rick, 51, was one of four people who went to trial, but he was the only one acquitted on all counts, Kilbride said.

Rick, who continues his practice in Ventura, was earlier ordered by a state licensing board to perform community service and pay penalties, Kilbride said.

“I settled with the state Board of Psychology because I could not afford a $40,000 [administrative] trial,” Rick said Thursday.

Rick’s attorney, William C. Maxwell of Ventura, said the 1994 sting was a “mistake” made by a then-new prosecutorial fraud division that was formed, in part, with donations from big insurance companies.

Kilbride said the fraud unit and the sting operation were successful.

“I feel that we had to find out what the extent of worker’s compensation fraud was in this county, and we found out that it was bad, but not as bad as people thought,” Kilbride said.

In the case of Rick’s acquittal, Kilbride said jurors believed the psychologist had performed an ample amount of services for patients, such as pre-screenings and calling insurance companies, to justify the fees he was paid.