WRTV-6 Indianapolis – A chiropractor and attorney who had been charged with fraud and several other counts was found not guilty following a three-day trial.
Robert Ekin, 39, adamantly denied that he had bilked five insurance companies out of thousands of dollars, 6News’ Derrik Thomas reported. Ekin worked at Midtown Chiropractic, at 1837 N. Meridian St. Prosecutors contended that he tracked down automobile crash victims, offered free consultations and then charged insurance companies for services not rendered.
“They had a hot mess of a case,” said Bryan Cook, Ekin’s attorney. “It was incredible and unbelievable that they would bring a case with this quality of evidence.”
Jurors delivered the not-guilty verdict after 14 hours of deliberation. Ekin said he feels vindicated, but violated. “We’ve lost absolutely everything. It’s been a horrible experience,” Ekin said. “Thanks to the jurors and especially, we’re eternally grateful to attorney Cook for what he’s done for my family.”
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office declined to make anyone available for an interview. A spokesman told Thomas that the office respects but disagrees with the verdict. Before the trial, Prosecutor Carl Brizzi lambasted what he called an elaborate fraud scheme. “It’s horrible to have lawyers claiming to represent you when they’re not, doctors … performing treatments that they’re not,” Brizzi said in 2007. “Talk about running up the cost of health care — this is a prime example of the type of fraud that we need to root out.”
The National Insurance Crime Bureau, which assisted the state’s case, was taken aback by the verdict. “We’ll take some lessons from this and decide how we need to proceed in future investigations on medical fraud,” said Todd Burris, of NICB.
Ekin said he and his wife are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. He has opened a new clinic at 5508 E. 16th St. His chiropractic license remains in good standing. Attorney David Wood, who was also charged in the fraud case, was also acquitted.
