LI acupuncturist Junyi Liu sentenced in scheme to steal $24M from health insurers

An acupuncturist from Great Neck was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 months in prison for orchestrating a scheme to steal $24 million from health insurers and rip off pandemic unemployment insurance programs.

Appearing in Manhattan federal court, Junyi "Jenny" Liu, 71, also was ordered to pay $24 million in restitution. That amount equals what she and eight others defrauded from Medicare and private insurers as well the jobless benefits she wasn’t entitled to.

Liu agreed to forfeit an additional $15.4 million.

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said the sentence handed down balances the severity of the crime against Liu’s diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.

Liu’s attorney, Kevin Keating, said she only had about eight months to live based on an estimate from her physicians at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital.

Liu ran four medical offices in New York City between 2018 and 2021 that billed insurance companies for acupuncture and physical therapy sessions that were unnecessary or never performed. She partnered with physical therapists and another acupuncturist in the scheme, according to a federal indictment.

The medical offices used the medical professionals’ enrollment with health insurers to submit false claims for reimbursement that included fake documents.

Patients also received tens of thousands of dollars in cash kickbacks and employees of insurance companies got cash and wine, the indictment states.

A year ago, Liu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. She faced up to 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release and possible deportation.

As part of the guilty plea, Liu also agreed to repay more than $40,000 in unemployment benefits that she and an unidentified relative received by falsely claiming they couldn't work because of COVID-19. Both were employed at the medical offices while they received benefits.

Prosecutors said Liu directed office staff to submit unemployment insurance applications for herself and the relative and to file weekly certifications in 2020 and 2021 falsely stating they were jobless and available for work. The relative spent five months in China during that period, prosecutors said.

Liu is among at least 16 people living or working in Nassau and Suffolk counties who allegedly ripped off the unemployment insurance program and additional pandemic-era programs that temporarily expanded eligibility and boosted weekly payments, according to a Newsday analysis of federal court cases and state administrative decisions. Together, they stole nearly $350,000 in jobless benefits.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.