Doc Shares “the Good, Bad and Ugly” of His Weight-loss Attempt
OHIO: What began as a quest to lose weight for one has turned into a journey of inspiration for hundreds.
In mid-September, Sandusky chiropractor Steven Prentice embarked on a quest to lose 100 pounds.
Prentice, 37, is also writing two e-mail updates per week to patients, friends and interested strangers about his weight-loss adventure.
“It’s about overcoming things and growing past our problems,” he explained.
“There was always a glaring contradiction between my life and my practice that always bothered me,” Prentice said.
He said he has struggled with his weight for more than a decade. Prentice said issues with weight are often a source of shame and embarrassment for many people.
Choosing to share his journey with so many, Prentice said, is a risk he is willing to take. The first step was to overcome the mental obstacles that have been holding him back. Also an addictionologist, Prentice began applying what he knew about addiction to his problem with food.
“Now I’m accountable to hundreds of people,” Prentice said.
More than 300 people are on Prentice’s e-mail list, and the list just keeps growing.
So far he has lost 33 pounds and is confident he will reach his goal weight of 182 pounds.
While his quest to lose weight is for himself, Prentice said it is also for his patients.
“What could I say to them that would work better than watching me go through this?”
“If people want to follow along, all they have to do is e-mail me.” E-mail Dr. Prentice at [email protected].
Sandusky Register
Hayward chiropractor pleads guilty to tax evasion
CALIFORNIA: A Hayward chiropractor has pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and has to pay a $1.16 million fine for taxes he didn’t pay, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reports. Ramon Reynoso, 45, was indicted by a federal grand jury Oct. 26, 2006, and charged with four counts of tax evasion.
According to a plea agreement reached in U.S. District Court in mid-September, from 1991 through 2004 Reynoso was self-employed at his chiropractic business in Hayward.
Prosecutors say Reynoso agreed that his taxable income for his services from 2000 through 2003 totaled about $3.2 million and he owed a total of about $1.2 million in taxes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Reynoso admitted that he had last filed his personal federal income taxes for the calendar year 1996 and, despite earning a significant income during 2001, he willfully failed to file his federal income taxes and took a number of affirmative acts to try to evade paying his income taxes.
Prosecutors said those steps included placing assets in nominee accounts to conceal his ownership of assets, using a trust to conceal his receipt of income and opening bank accounts with false Social Security numbers.
Reynoso has agreed to pay about $1.2 million in restitution for the taxes he didn’t pay.
In addition, he faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he’s sentenced.
The prosecution resulted from an investigation by Internal Revenue Service’s criminal investigation unit and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
InsideBayArea.com
NJ Chiropractor Pleads Guilty to Attempted Theft in Insurance Fraud Scheme
NEW JERSEY: A New Jersey chiropractor pleaded guilty in late September for his role in an insurance fraud scheme. According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Samuel Sbarra, 49, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Donald J. Volkert, Jr. in Essex County to a criminal accusation charging him with third-degree attempted theft by deception.
At the guilty plea hearing, Sbarra admitted that between Nov. 2 and Nov. 18, 2005, he submitted a phony claim to the Chubb Insurance Company. Sbarra admitted he falsely submitted a claim to Chubb Insurance reflecting that he had provided 18 dates of chiropractic services for a total of $1,844. Chubb Insurance denied the claim and referred the matter to the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
The Special Investigative Unit of the Chubb Insurance Company assisted OIFP in the investigation.
Sbarra is scheduled to appear before Judge Volkert on Nov. 29 to be sentenced. Third-degree crimes carry sentences of up to five years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000. Sbarra also may face civil insurance fraud fines.
New Jersey Attorney General
Chiropractor Convicted of Raping Patients
CALIFORNIA: A Los Angeles chiropractor has been convicted of sexually assaulting four of his female patients and a woman looking for a job at his office. An L.A. Superior Court jury deliberated about three days before finding Thomas Dickershaid guilty of eleven felony counts, including rape and sexual battery.
Dickershaid, who had been free on $200,000 bail, was taken into custody while awaiting his October 29th sentencing. A prosecutor says he faces at least 20 years in state prison. Daily Breeze
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