BATON ROUGE, La.— Arthur Copes of Baton Rouge is taken from Judge Tony Marabella’s courtroom in handcuffs after being sentenced to 3 years at hard labor at the Louisiana Department of Corrections, followed by 15 years of supervised probation. Copes was found guilty on July 28, 2008 of 8 counts of insurance fraud. Copes is also ordered to pay restitution to the victims in the case, both Blue Cross Blue Shield and Copes’ clients. BCBS is owed approximately $88,000. The clients, for which these charges are related, are owed approximately $100,000. 

 

Copes was originally arrested on 117 counts by the Attorney General’s Office.  Prosecutors say these counts represent the entirety of the insurance fraud, which totals more $777,000. Several of the counts covered different instances of fraud on the same form.

David Caldwell, co-prosecutor, along with Butch Wilson, presented overwhelming evidence which showed Copes fraudulently billed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana of more than $88,000. “This case isn’t just about the insurance dollars it’s about the people from 10 or 12 states who put their hope in Copes for a cure for their scoliosis,” said David Caldwell. “Scoliosis is a condition that can only be managed, not cured. So, Copes was selling them false hope at a very high price.”

Copes ran a clinic in Baton Rouge which provided braces for Scoliosis patients. State’s evidence showed the insurance company was fraudulently billed for services Copes was not licensed to render and that he expected upfront payments from clients who thought they were seeing a licensed medical doctor, which Copes was not.

“I am deeply concerned that you[Mr. Copes] have not taken responsibility or shown any remorse for your actions,” said Judge Tony Marabella. “I will not allow you to continue to present yourself as a doctor and possibly harm even one person because you are not trained and skilled in the areas in which you lead people to believe.”

The Louisiana Attorney General’s office spent countless hours investigating this case. Many of Copes’ clients were outside the state of Louisiana. “The majority of the victims were children who were very vulnerable due to the fact they had a debilitating disease and he took advantage of them” said Assistant Attorney General Butch Wilson. “The main focus of the judge’s sentence was to make sure he would never be able to take advantage of them again”

Copes’ attorney has 30 days to appeal the sentence.