The Division of Workers’ Compensation last week suspended seven more medical providers from participating in California’s workers’ compensation system, bringing the total number of providers suspended to 166.

The providers were suspended for fraud or other criminal actions, or the loss of their license.

The most notable new suspension announced was “David Wayne Fish, Los Angeles businessperson, was convicted in Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2010 for receiving compensation or inducement for the referral of clients. Fish organized dozens of lawyers and doctors to steer more than 4,000 cases to preferred medical providers in order to run up high bills. Fish was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution and approximately $390,000 in unpaid taxes.”

One might say “it’s about time!”

Fish at the time was the president of Premier Medical Management Systems. He and former attorney Birger Greg Bacino of Rancho Santa Fe, were each charged in 2010 with one felony count of compensation or inducement for referring clients. Premier was also charged in the complaint for submitting a false and fraudulent workers’ compensation claim and for filing a false tax return.

Albert MacKenzie, deputy-in-charge of the Fraud Interdiction Program, said the investigation revealed that Fish and Bacino engaged in the illegal acquisition of patients through an elaborate scheme through which they purchased several thousand workers’ compensation client referrals from an attorney television advertising service.

When a referral was received for a prospective workers’ compensation case, the client was sent to doctors and other healthcare providers within the defendants’ business network. Premier Medical Management Systems handled the billing and collection work in return for a 50-percent or greater fee. After meeting with a healthcare provider, the client was sent to a workers’ compensation attorney with whom the defendants also had a business relationship.

Fish and Bacino paid $750,000 and $150,000 respectively to the State of California Department of Insurance Fraud Division for costs associated with carrying out the investigation. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Bacino was ordered to additionally pay $210,000 — and Fish $390,000 — to the California Franchise Tax Board in unpaid taxes.

As part of the negotiated settlement, the duo waived all rights to any benefits or proceeds from the more than $60 million in liens and bills pending in the workers’ compensation system.

But that was not the end of the story. Later, in 2013, the Court of Appeal agreed to arguments presented by Universal Psychiatric Medical Center Inc. that Fish did not have authority to waive its liens, and WCAB dismissals of those liens were reversed.