The ex-wife of a Bellmore rabbi — who had secretly videotaped her ex-husband on the Sabbath — was arrested Tuesday after she allegedly posed as a psychiatrist and billed an insurance company despite not having a medical license, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.
Amora Rachelle, 35, formerly of Atlantic Beach, was arrested Tuesday in Westbury by DA investigators and charged with grand larceny in the third degree, falsifying business records in the first degree, scheme to defraud in the first degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, and unauthorized practice, all felonies. Rochelle faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, and is due back in court Nov. 18. Bail was set today at $10,000 bond or $5,000 cash.
“The real victims in this case are Rachelle’s unsuspecting patients who thought they were being treated by a licensed professional,” Rice said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, they were being strung along by a con artist who built her medical practice on lies and greed.”
However, Rachelle, currently of Los Angeles, California, claims she wasn't leading anyone on. "I'm not guilty," she told the New York Post Wednesday. "I have always followed the law."
In July of 2011, Rachelle informed Patch of a between her and ex-husband, Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich, after she released a videotape she seceretly filmed in 2006 of Rabinowich meeting with prostitutes on the Sabbath shortly after services.
According to Rice, between 2008 and 2010, Rachelle, known professionally as Dr. Amora, held herself out as a psychologist and treated patients in her home despite not having a license to do so. In 2008, Rachelle provided mental health services to a car accident victim and fraudulently received more than $3,400 from GEICO for “psych” services rendered.
In February 2009, Rachelle, who was only qualified to practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist, lied to the New York State Courts on an unsuccessful application for a position on a panel of court-appointed psychologists, Rice said. She continued to illegally treat patients in December 2009 after being denied a full license by the New York State Department of Education, Office of the Professions.
According to Rice, from November 2009 through early 2010, still unlicensed, Rachelle illegally saw patients through her personal practice, Heath I.Q. After the initial three months, Rachelle allegedly refused to give the patients the needed diagnostic codes so that they could get reimbursement from their insurance companies, causing the patients to pay over $8,000 out of pocket.
This case originated in the New York State Education Department, Office of Professional Discipline (OPD), as a part of Rachelle’s application for licensure as a psychologist. After conducting its own investigation, OPD referred the case to the DA and assisted throughout the investigation.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
