On May 9, 2016, Dr. Randal Curtis Pruitt, 44, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa to 18 months in prison. Pruitt had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud.
Pruitt was also ordered to pay $478,549 in restitution and perform 100 hours of community service while serving a three-year term of supervised release upon release from prison.
Pruitt, while operating the Arizona Back Institute in Phoenix in 2010 and 2011, defrauded Synchrony Bank (formerly GE Money Bank) and JP Morgan Chase by assuming the identity of 56 patients and obtaining credit card accounts or lines of credit in their names. Once the credit accounts were obtained, Pruitt submitted false claims for services he had not performed or double billed for services for which he had already been paid. As part of his restitution, Pruitt was also ordered to repay 17 patients who had paid for services but did not receive them after he closed his practice. Pruitt’s license was previously revoked by the Arizona Board of Chiropractic Examiners. At sentencing, Judge Humetewa noted that Pruitt has yet to repay any of his creditors or patients.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Phoenix Police Department.