Wife of jailed Rancho Mirage cosmetic surgeon sentenced to 8 years in federal prison
A Rancho Mirage woman was sentenced to over 8 years in federal prison for her role in scamming issuance companies of up to $44 million for cosmetic surgeries.
Linda Morrow, 70, was also ordered to pay $14,025,904 in restitution. During her sentencing on Friday, United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton remarked that her “greed knew no bounds.”
“[Linda Morrow] was not simply the ‘doctor’s wife’ to a doctor who happened to commit a crime,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “To the contrary, [she] was an equal partner in their fraudulent scheme, and she participated and ran multiple parts of it.”
Linda Morrow, has been in federal custody since July 2019. In February, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of contempt of court for fleeing the United States to Israel with her husband, David Morrow, 77.
David Morrow was a doctor whose medical license was revoked in January 2018. Linda Morrow helped her husband run the fraudulent billing scheme out of The Morrow Institute (TMI) in Rancho Mirage and was TMI’s executive director.
The Morrows schemed to defraud health insurance companies by submitting bills for procedures performed at TMI that were billed as “medically necessary” – but in fact were cosmetic procedures such as “tummy tucks,” “nose jobs,” breast augmentations, and vaginal rejuvenations.
The victims included Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Cigna Health Insurance. The scheme also defrauded Staples, Inc. and a self-insured group of public entities that included school districts.
David Murrow pleaded guilty to the scheme in 2016 but weeks before his scheduled sentencing in 2017, authorities were alerted that the Morrows moved out of their multimillion-dollar home in Beverly Hills, and was no longer responsive to requests of the court. Authorities learned that the couple fled to Israel.
Judge Staton imposed the 20-year sentence while the Morrows were living as fugitives, finding that the intended loss from the scheme was more than $44 million.
In June 2019, the Morrows were arrested at their home in Ashkelon, Israel. David Morrow was extradited by Israel in January 2020 and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
