NEWARK – The former president and owner of Spinal Care & Rehabilitation Center (“Spinal Care”), a chiropractic clinic in Rahway was sentenced to 37 months in prison in connection with his scheme to stage automobile accidents in order to send the participants to his clinic for phony treatment, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Roberto Castanon, 63, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls, who also imposed the sentence Monday in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Castanon admitted that from January 2003 through February 2007, he conspired with others to stage automobile accidents. As part of the conspiracy, Castanon and others recruited individuals to participate in the staged accidents, instructing them to have intentional collisions. Castanon admitted that the scheme resulted in more than $400,000 in losses to insurance companies.

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