When patients across Orange County began noticing mysterious charges for medical tests they had never received, the trail of unexplained bills led investigators to an unlikely source: a Mission Viejo medical office and a quiet neighborhood in Irvine.
Authorities say the discovery unraveled an insurance fraud scheme in which an Irvine couple, Rebecca Juarez, 39, and Juan Pablo Rodriguez, 31, allegedly stole the identities of more than 21 patients and used the information to submit fake insurance claims worth more than $10,000.
The case began after several residents filed complaints with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, reporting that their health insurers had billed them for tests and treatments that never took place. Investigators with the California Department of Insurance soon joined the inquiry, tracing the phantom charges back to patient records at a Mission Viejo medical practice where Juarez worked…