Northbrook Chiropractor Steven Paul Sentenced to 20 Months for Billing Blue Cross for Unnecessary Tests and Therapy That Never Happened

Case from 2017 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Dec. 6, 2017). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Steven Paul, a chiropractor who co-owned six clinics in Chicago's north suburbs, was sentenced on Dec. 5, 2017, to 20 months in federal prison for billing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois for medically unnecessary or nonexistent services, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1]. His co-owner, chiropractor Bradley Mattson, was sentenced in 2012 to six and a half years.

How the scheme worked

According to the plea agreements, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. Six clinics: Paul and Mattson jointly owned Hawthorn, Woodfield, Stratford, Algonquin, Northshore and Cumberland Physical Medicine.
2. Tests regardless of need: Paul required the clinics' chiropractors and medical doctors to order x-rays, MRI scans and neurological testing without regard to medical necessity.
3. Pre-set treatment plans: Patients got an initial x-ray and a fixed six-month schedule of visits whether or not they needed it.
4. Phantom therapy: Paul also billed for physical therapy that was never provided.
5. Undercover visit: An undercover FBI agent who went to the Hawthorn clinic for a supposed back strain was diagnosed by Mattson with a pinched nerve and put on daily visits for two weeks, even though the clinic's medical doctor and a physical therapist thought it was a pulled muscle.

Paul admitted that from 1999 to 2008 he directed $3.65 million in such billings to Blue Cross Blue Shield, and his clinics collected $1.33 million in fraudulent reimbursements.

The people sentenced

Steven Paul, 46 at sentencing, of Northbrook, Ill. [1]

• Plea: pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud.
• Sentence (Dec. 5, 2017): 20 months in prison, imposed by U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman, who cited Paul's "extraordinary cooperation" with the investigation.

Bradley Mattson, of Lake Forest, Ill.

• Pleaded guilty to health care fraud and was sentenced in 2012 to six and a half years in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General.

Red flags

• Every patient gets the same x-ray and a months-long visit schedule on day one.
• A diagnosis that conflicts with what other providers at the same clinic tell you.
• Your insurer's explanation of benefits lists therapy you never received.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Read every explanation of benefits from your insurer and question charges you don't recognize.
2. Get a second opinion before committing to a long, pre-set treatment plan.
3. Report suspected billing fraud to your insurer's fraud unit and, for federal programs, to the HHS Office of Inspector General at 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Steven Paul, Northbrook, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Guzman)	Pleaded guilty to health care fraud; sentenced Dec. 5, 2017, to 20 months	[1]
Bradley Mattson, Lake Forest, Ill.	N.D. Ill.	Pleaded guilty to health care fraud; sentenced in 2012 to 6.5 years	[1]

The sentences were imposed in 2012 and 2017; we have not found a source on any later proceedings.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "North Suburban Chiropractor Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Billing Insurance Carrier for Medically Unnecessary Treatment," Dec. 6, 2017. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/north-suburban-chiropractor-sentenced-20-months-prison-billing-insurance-carrier

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