Chiropractor arrested for illegal workman's comp billing

A Carson City chiropractor was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of illegally claiming almost $72,000 in worker's compensation for himself while billing the same program for services he was performing for several of his patients.

According to reports from the attorney general's office worker's compensation fraud division, a claims adjustor at Employers Insurance Company of Nevada noticed Mark J. Mattoon, 51, who practices at Carson Valley Chiropractic Clinic, was collecting payments between Aug. 5, 1997 and Feb. 8, 1998. During the same period, the adjustor noticed that Mattoon was billing Employers Insurance.

Mattoon's compensation claim was reportedly a response to an injury he sustained to his lower back and left leg while treating a patient on June 2, 1997. As a result of his claim, he was paid $25,948 between July 1998 and March 1999. He was also paid $22,410 for a permanent disability and $23,627 for rehabilitative maintenance compensation.

During this time, Mattoon was also sent for vocational training to become an orthopedic chiropractic disability evaluator.

In a report submitted by the attorney general's office, Mattoon's physician, Dr. Tracy Muscari, wrote that "even the minor stress of manipulating the upper extremities and/or necks, aggravates his condition, let alone the more significant manipulations to the back and lower extremities."

Investigators cited billing records in the report that they say show Mattoon performed several chiropractic adjustments during the time he was receiving worker's compensation.

Mattoon was charged with four counts related to illegal claims of worker's compensation and three counts related to illegally processing checks from Employers Insurance. He was released on his own recognizance.