A Louisiana chiropractor has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his involvement in schemes related to health care fraud and unemployment insurance fraud.
Court documents show that Dr. Benjamin Tekippe, 40, from New Orleans, owned Metairie Chiropractic & Rehab. Tekippe was found to have recruited patients insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) by misleadingly advertising “free” chiropractic massages for BCBSLA members. In reality, he billed their insurance for these massages—services that were not covered—and also submitted claims for other chiropractic procedures that were either not performed or inaccurately billed. The evidence presented at trial indicated that Tekippe made thousands of false claims, including billing for services while he was out of the office, on vacation abroad, or incarcerated on state charges.
When BCBSLA conducted an audit, Tekippe falsified patient records and directed his staff to rewrite them in an attempt to legitimize the fraudulent claims. Over time, he submitted more than $2.3 million in claims and received about $740,000 from BCBSLA. Trial evidence also showed that Tekippe used some of the illicit funds for luxury purchases and gambling activities, such as spending over $90,000 at Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tekippe falsely certified weekly that he was unemployed while continuing to bill for chiropractic services. This led him to unlawfully collect $12,952 in unemployment insurance benefits.
In April 2025, a federal jury convicted Tekippe on six counts of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. Along with his prison sentence, he has been ordered to pay $753,794.36 in restitution.
The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana; and Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, Baton Rouge Field Office.
“The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.”
“Trial Attorneys Kelly Z. Walters and Samantha Usher of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.”
According to the Justice Department's Fraud Section, since March 2007 its Health Care Fraud Strike Force program has charged more than 5,800 defendants who together have billed federal health care programs and private insurers over $30 billion through fraudulent means. The program operates across nine strike forces in 27 federal districts (https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is also working with HHS-OIG to hold providers accountable for their participation in health care fraud schemes.
