A Twin Cities psychologist has admitted in court that he falsely collected more than $500,000 from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community for counseling services he did not provide.
Charles Howard Jorenby, 57, of Chanhassen, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to felony health care fraud for a billing scheme that spanned more than seven years involving his business, Life Dynamics Inc. in Prior Lake.
As part of his guilty plea, Jorenby admitted to an additional fraudulent claim to State Farm Insurance in 2017 following a fire at his business office. Jorenby said he inflated his lost-income claim to include earnings associated with his fraudulent billings, totaling an additional $104,930.
Jorenby is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27 and remains free on $25,000 bond. State records show that his license to practice psychology in Minnesota remains active.
Federal guidelines call for him to receive a sentence of anywhere from 2½ to slightly more than three years in prison and for him to repay the tribe in full for its losses, and to reimburse State Farm for no less than $50,000. Federal judges have wide discretion and are not bound by the guidelines.
According to court documents:
From January 2013 through February 2020, Jorenby defrauded Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which is responsible for funding the account that the insurer draws from in order to process health care claims for tribal members.
Jorenby submitted bills to the health care insurer for services for at least 29 tribal members. In reality, he used their names and dates of birth without their knowledge and collected at least $555,000 from the Sioux band.
