Skokie Chiropractors Sued for Fraud

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez has filed a lawsuit against two Skokie chiropractors alleging they placed a fake job ad on Craigslist to recruit patients for their clinic, according to a press release.

Dr. Michel Roy, Dr. Caroline Bergeron and Health Solutions Comprehensive Quality Care, LLC, at 5555 W. Touhy Ave., have been named in the lawsuit filed in June that claims the doctors and the clinic violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

The lawsuit is seeking a permanent injunction barring the Roy and Bergeron from engaging in any further alleged deceptive practices, a $50,000 fine from each of the doctors and refunds for affected consumers.

Prosecutors say Roy and Bergeron placed an ad on Craigslist offering a receptionist position in January and February of 2012, but instead of interviewing the applicants Roy gave presentations that solicited the job seekers for chiropractic and wellness services offered by Health Solutions.

After the presentation, the doctors gave out gift certificates for complimentary wellness screenings and encouraged the job seekers to redeem the certificates within a 30-day period, the lawsuit states. Some of the job seekers redeemed the gift certificates and also purchased various chiropractic and wellness services from Health Solutions, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also claims that Roy and Bergeron obtained personal medical histories and information from job applications and at a later date solicited the job seekers again for complimentary wellness screenings.

More than 275 people responded to the ad and 90 people were invited to group interviews at the clinic but no job offer was ever made to any of the job applicants, prosecutors say.