A former San Francisco law firm partner and his wife are facing criminal charges for allegedly scheming to defraud the school district, health insurers and the firm for special education services for their autistic son.
Jonathan Dickstein and his wife Barclay Lynn, both 43, were arrested Wednesday, according to the district attorney’s office.
They are accused of fraudulently billing the San Francisco Unified School District and the health insurance companies used by Dickstein’s law firm, Morrison & Foerster, between 2006 and 2008. The bills totaled nearly $400,000.
Prosecutors have charged Dickstein with 31 felony counts, including grand theft, forgery, insurance fraud and conspiracy. Lynn is facing 30 felony counts.
Dickstein graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Law School and specializes in intellectual property law, according to the State Bar of California.
The couple posted $100,000 bail each on Wednesday and are due in San Francisco Superior Court for arraignment on Tuesday morning.
According to prosecutors, in 2006, the couple created a company called Puzzle Pieces in order to get reimbursed for special education services for their son.
Under state law, the school district is required to provide services for special needs students, either directly or to reimburse for a third-party provider.
Dickstein and Lynn claimed their company was a special education services provider and they billed in its name, but in actuality, the company was only the two of them, and neither were qualified or licensed to provide such services, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said that although some services were provided to the couple’s son, they were not received from a licensed professional or someone supervised by a licensed professional, as required by state law.
The couple also allegedly over billed and “double dipped,” billing both the school district and insurance companies for the same services.
Prosecutors also said that the couple kept approximately $200,000 of the $400,000 for themselves.
Neither Dickstein’s attorney, Garrick Lew, nor Lynn’s attorney, Douglas Rappaport, were immediately available for comment today.
