Surgeon Acquitted of Insurance Fraud
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A Santa Ana orthopedic surgeon charged two years ago in a much-publicized crackdown on workers’ compensation insurance fraud was acquitted Tuesday on all 14 counts against him.
The not-guilty verdict, delivered by a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury, exonerated Dr. Marappa V. Gopinath, 46, who had been accused of filing bogus insurance claims.
At the time, state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi proclaimed Gopinath’s arrest and that of eight others as “a clear warning to con artists that we aim to put them out of business.”
Gopinath could not be reached for comment, but his attorney, Marshall Schulman, said, “Justice has not been served, because he never should have been charged.”
While under indictment, Gopinath has continued to practice medicine in Santa Ana, Schulman said, but his practice has suffered.
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