Miami chiropractor and Scientology donor Dennis Nobbe charged with COVID relief fraud

 
Wow! Another Scientologist chiropractor has been charged by the feds with defrauding Medicare, but also defrauding the PPP loan program intended to bail out small businesses during the COVID crisis. And this time, we know him well. It’s Miami Scientology promoter Dennis Nobbe!

Seven years ago, we described how he had run into trouble with the federal government for forcing his employees to become Scientologists to such an extreme he had created his own Scientology academy for his workers to go through.

And now he’s facing some serious trouble, as described this afternoon by the Department of Justice:

Dennis Nobbe, 63, of Miami, Florida, was charged by criminal complaint, unsealed today upon his arrest, in the Southern District of Florida with wire fraud; health care fraud; conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud; making false statements to a financial institution; money laundering; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge John O’Sullivan at 1 p.m. EST today.

Nobbe is accused not only of defrauding Medicare, which is why New York Scientologist chiropractor Jay Spina is facing prison time, but he also had the audacity to use PPP money for personal use!

The complaint alleges that Nobbe, a chiropractor, orchestrated a scheme to exploit his patients for financial gain through a credit card program intended to help patients pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. To conceal his role in the scheme, Nobbe paid bribes to other physicians to open credit card merchant accounts in their names. Nobbe then encouraged patients at his chiropractic business, Dynamic Medical Services Inc., many of whom were low-income and did not speak English, to apply for the credit cards.

According to the complaint, Nobbe charged thousands of dollars to these credit cards for services that he never, or only partially, rendered, leaving patients saddled with debt. In addition, Nobbe bribed a physician to submit claims to Medicare on Nobbe’s behalf because Nobbe, as a chiropractor, was ineligible to submit the claims himself, and would not have been able to receive reimbursement for the claimed services. Nobbe and other physicians also allegedly conspired to launder the proceeds from these schemes.

As stated in the complaint, Nobbe instructed the physicians to conceal Nobbe’s involvement in the scheme, and sought to conceal the purpose of large wire transfers he received, through the use of shell companies and sham contracts.

The complaint further alleges that Nobbe obtained over $200,000 in PPP and EIDL loans intended to provide COVID relief, and that Nobbe transferred portions of the proceeds to shell companies under his control and to pay personal expenses.

It’s really something to see these wealthy Scientologist donors finally getting charged for what so many of them get away with.

When we wrote about him in 2013, we were astounded to learn that he was not only forcing Scientology on his employees, but that he’d even set up a physical Scientology academy, sort of a mini-church, across the street…

We’re learning that Nobbe was a particularly fanatical WISE guy.

“He had his own academy,” says Frank Oliver, a former Scientologist who worked as a spy for the Office of Special Affairs in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and who, like Nobbe, was involved in the Miami “org.”

…Oliver introduced us to two South Florida women who also have an extensive background with Nobbe and told us about his long history running his own Scientology academy for employees.

“The academy was across the street from his office on Bird Road in Miami,” says one of the women, who asked not to be identified. Employees would go across the street for Scientology courses when they weren’t working in the chiropractic office, she says. “He required all of his chiropractic doctors to go to the org for courses. Some did auditing, some did training to become auditors.”

The woman, who worked at the academy, says Nobbe had a reputation for being a major player in the local org. “Almost the whole time I knew him, I was in the bubble, and his reputation in the organization was so large because he’d donated so much money. He was getting all kinds of pats on the back. For buying books, and helping with renovations. And then the money he was making, some of it was coming from dentists and chiropractors and other professionals he was bringing in,” she says.

…“The academy was easily as big and decked out as some of the missions,” says the other woman, Patti Thompson, who at one time was a mission holder herself — a sort of franchisee running a facility that would provide entry-level church courses. She says she understood what kind of pressure Nobbe was under to get new employees to go with the program. “As a Scientologist you have to do that kind of shit. You have to force people in, whether they want to or not. You have to get them to take courses to improve your own stats.”

We asked them if they had an opinion about why Nobbe — pronounced KNOW-bee — had been unable to work something out with the government short of being sued and facing the possibility of a large judgment.

Advertisement

“It’s because he’s a Scientologist,” says Thompson. “He isn’t going to act the way most employers would. He wouldn’t consult an attorney or other business people. He would go straight to the org. Scientologists don’t think with the same toolkit.”

Well, he’s certainly in trouble for doing things his own way now.

 
And here’s the criminal complaint. Help us pull out the best parts!

US v. Dennis Nobbe: Complaint by Tony Ortega on Scribd

 
——————–

Source Code

“Do you realize the value of auditing is not measurable in dollars and cents to a person who is being audited properly? It is just not measurable. A hundred thousand dollars an hour would be something he would talk about. Got the idea? He would talk about. He might not be able to pay it but he could consider it. Now, that’s quite interesting. He could consider it, without gaping and jumping out the window and so forth.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 29, 1958

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“LRH describes in the Philadelphia Doctorate Course taped lectures, that one can ‘scan’ the time track of a room or a house. LRH scanned the past track and the future track of the room he was doing the lecture at.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“I want a cheap E-meter so I can sec-check my cats and I can get to the bottom of mysteries like, why do you chew on plastic bags? Why do you eat your own hair? Why do you refuse to help me do the dishes?”

 
——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay Spina, Medicare fraud: Sentencing is set for August 27 in White Plains, NY
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments set for August 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Hearing on motion for reconsideration set for August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 4 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 7-19 (motions to compel arbitration)
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Oral arguments were heard on March 11 in Jacksonville
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021

 
——————–

Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!

Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Driving people away (and begging them back) was built into Scientology from the start
[TWO years ago] Nancy Cartwright goes home as Scientology ‘Ideal’-izes the world
[THREE years ago] Jon Atack: The biggest thing L. Ron Hubbard got wrong about Buddhism
[FOUR years ago] Arlene Cordova, 1933-2016: In her 80s, she took on Scientology and reunited with her daughter
[FIVE years ago] How Scientology schools prepare young minds for the rigors of the Sea Org
[SIX years ago] VIDEO: Scientology gets a grilling at Chautauqua
[SEVEN years ago] Jim Lynch, Scientology’s Shill, Dies at 59
[EIGHT years ago] “Tom Cruise Worships David Miscavige Like a God”: The John Brousseau Story, Part Two
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s Hollywood Landmarks: More from THR Reporter Daniel Miller

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 29, 2020 at 13:55

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 14 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele