Auckland podiatrist forged signatures and made up injuries to claim more money from ACC

A podiatrist has been censured for forging signatures and making up accident injury claims. Photo / 123rf

An Auckland podiatrist forged signatures, made up accidents injuries on ACC forms and recorded almost 100 treatments which never took place.

The fabrications by podiatrist Brian Libberto Koh led to ACC paying his employer, BodyZone Physiotherapy, almost $7300 it was not entitled to.

Between September 2015 and August 2016 Koh billed ACC for 99 treatments which did not take place, fabricated accident details on 23 occasions, forged 20 signatures and charged ACC for 39 one-hour treatments when he only saw the client for 10-15 minutes.

The fabricated accidents and forged signatures used personal details Koh gained by offering free massaging and strapping at sports events he attended.

Koh plead guilty to three criminal charges laid by police but was discharged without conviction and repaid ACC the full amount.

The court found that Koh had been "thrust" into a self-employment environment and found himself "ill prepared for the pressures". The court accepted that a major part of his motivation was to impress his employers although the false treatments saw him pocket a little over $2000 himself.

Koh also admitted the charges to the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal where his actions were found to amount to professional misconduct leading to his censure.

The tribunal ordered that he undergo an assessment covering appropriate time-keeping and billing and that he permit audits of any records or documents concerning his billing for podiatry work.