Barnes & Thornburg Secures Dismissal of Federal RICO and Fraud Claims for Doctor Against Columbus Life

A New Jersey federal judge threw out federal RICO and fraud claims against Barnes & Thornburg client Dr. Jenny Cheng. Although most claims were defeated, the case remains pending as a claim was allowed to proceed under state law.

Columbus Life Insurance Co. filed the lawsuit in July 2025 alleging that producer JC Marketing Partners, its directors and affiliated insurance producers and the doctors formed an illegal enterprise to generate commissions and defraud the insurer into issuing roughly 250 policies worth over $160 million. The insurer claimed JC Marketing targeted low-income Chinese nationals between the ages of 50 and 75 who had recently immigrated to the United States.

Barnes & Thornburg and Zumpano Patricios moved to dismiss the claims against Dr. Cheng in September 2025.  In an order dated June 16, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted a motion to dismiss Columbus Life Insurance Co.’s claims for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act violations, conspiracy to violate RICO, fraud, tortious interference and unjust enrichment against Dr. Cheng.

The court allowed a single state claim by the insurer, under the state’s Insurance Fraud Protection Act, to proceed after finding that the court has jurisdiction over the claim. The court extended its ruling to another doctor who filed a motion to dismiss, effectively adopting Dr. Cheng’s arguments.

The court agreed with Barnes & Thornburg’s position that Columbus failed to meet the required standard in alleging mail and wire fraud to support its assertion that the doctors engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity under RICO. The court also held that Columbus failed to show that the doctors knew of the scheme or that the medical records in question were actually falsified.

“It is insufficient to allege misrepresentations were made to Columbus Life without specifying the nature or subject of the alleged fraud,” the opinion stated.

Finally, Columbus failed to allege a claim for unjust enrichment because it did not show that the doctors received any form payment out of the commission offered to JC Marketing.

The Barnes & Thornburg team is led by partners Scott Hulsey and Michael Zogby and includes associates Farwa Tahir and Rachel Forman. The Zumpano Patricios team is led by Mark Fang.