A Grass Valley psychologist is suspected of fraudulently billing insurance companies for services that were never performed, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
Psychologist Pamlyn Kelly is now under investigation by a litany of departments, including the State Department of Insurance, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office.
“The agency was alerted when a patient discovered services that were billed to her insurance company but were never performed,” DCA Deputy Director of Communications Russ Heimerich said.
What Kelly is accused of amounts to workers’ compensation fraud, which is a felony in California.
Heimerich said investigators served a search warrant at Kelly’s Grass Valley home; what they found gave them enough confidence to make the allegations public.
There are two simultaneous investigations into Kelly: the criminal investigation and an administrative investigation, which will determine whether disciplinary action should be taken against Kelly’s license.
“It’s either revocation, probation, sometimes there’s a stipulated settlement to surrender a license, it really depends case to case,” Heimerich said.
As of now, Kelly is still able to practice; however, the DCA is considering suspending her license during the investigation, depending on what is found.
Although this began with one patient, investigators suspect other instances of fraud.
Current or former patients are encouraged to check their bills or talk to their insurance company for services that were not provided — especially the dates of services.
If you suspect fraud, contact Supervising Investigator Mark Loomis at (916) 263-2585.