A California doctor who defrauded Medicare of more than $45 million and used the cash to buy multimillion-dollar homes, pricy cars and opulent collectibles was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, the Department of Justice announced
Friday.
Violetta Mailyan, 45, had been convicted in May by a Central District of California jury on nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense for her scam to fraudulently bill Medicare for Botox injections she never gave.
Mailyan, of Glendale, purchased five pieces of California real estate using the money, as well as two Tesla cars, including a Cybertruck.
Her case serves as one of the most striking recent examples of Medicare fraud as Vice President JD Vance spearheads a task force to tackle the scam artists.
The DOJ previously said Mailyan had four properties in Surfside and Glendale, California, with a combined equity of about $7.3 million.
She also bought luxury goods, including a $12,000 17th century crossbow and a $3,000 painting of Ludwig I, Crown Prince of Bavaria.
Prosecutors said Mailyan owned and operated the Healthy Way Medical Center clinic, which claimed to provide beauty and cosmetic services. She billed and received Medicare payments for thousands of injections that were never provided.
Mailyan also billed for thousands of injections, worth more than $19 million, that were supposedly provided on days when her clinic was actually closed.
As she carried out the scheme, Mailyan billed for providing the injections when she was actually on vacation in Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and New York at different times.
Violetta Mailyan, 45, of Glendale, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense
An image from Mailyan's phone presented by prosecutors showed a stunning shot of Cabo, Mexico, on the same day she billed Medicare $34,560 for services purportedly in Glendale
Mailyan billed over $200,000 for supposedly providing the services to patients in California when she was actually relaxing on the beach in Cabo.
A photograph from Mailyan's phone presented by prosecutors showed a gorgeous scene at the Mexican hub on the same day she billed Medicare $34,560 for services she claimed had been rendered in Glendale.
Medicare reimburses medical providers for Botox injections when they are needed to treat documented cases of chronic migraines.
However, Mailyan billed and received payments for thousands of injections that were never provided or were not provided for said migraine treatment.
Prosecutors said Mailyan falsified medical records to try to cover her tracks once investigators were close to cracking her fraud scam.
She also forged Medicare beneficiary signatures, including for a man who was imprisoned during the time she purportedly provided treatment.
Mailyan even submitted those falsified records to federal investigators in an attempt to make it seem like she had seen patients she had not actually seen.
She did this after receiving a grand jury subpoena seeking medical records, according to prosecutors.
It was not immediately clear when Mailyan's prison sentence would start.
Prosecutors said Mailyan billed Medicare for injections that were administered while she was traveling to Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, New York and Pennsylvania
Mailyan bought two Tesla vehicles, including a Cybertruck, with the money obtained through the fraudulent scheme
Prosecutors said Mailyan had been identified as an 'extreme outlier' among doctors who received Medicare payments for Botox.
She was paid six times the next highest group of providers, who were all neurologists.
On top of being sentenced to prison, Mailyan was also ordered to forfeit more than $16 million worth of property, including bank funds, personal property, real property and securities.
She was also told to pay approximately $32.9 million in restitution to Medicare.
Mailyan faced up to 20 years in prison for each of the nine counts of wire fraud and five years in prison for each of the three obstruction charges.
The DOJ touted that its work to combat fraud supported President Donald Trump's task force to eliminate fraud.
Trump has undertaken an aggressive effort to eliminate fraud in government, establishing a task force on the topic in March and putting Vance in charge of it.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr Mehmet Oz claimed in October that the 'Chinese mafia' may be orchestrating Medicaid fraud through senior care centers.
Oz delivered letters of warning to senior centers in Flushing, Queens, as part of a multi-agency federal probe.
He told Fox News Digital that 'the whole experience was suspicious' at his trips to Kent Senior Care and Evergreen Adult Day Care, saying the 'Chinese mafia' may be paying people to help facilitate the scam.
New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul promised the state is engaging a 'massive effort to combat fraud and abuse' in Medicaid.
Mailyan also used the money on luxury collectibles, including a $12,000 17th century crossbow and a $3,000 painting of Ludwig I, crown prince of Bavaria
Mailyan falsified medical records to try to cover her tracks once investigators closed in on her scam, according to prosecutors
Last month, Trump announced a $25 million program to encourage the public to blow the whistle on suspected fraud in the government.
The White House said that under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, anyone who submits a tip that leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action is eligible to receive up to $30,000, and that the Justice Department will administer the program.
During the announcement, Trump said payments would amount to one percent commission on the amount of fraud the tip helped uncover.
Trump added that he would decide who received the reward money in cases where more than one person claimed to have provided the tip.
The President also revealed last month that more than 20 million seniors would receive surprise Medicare payments of $90.
The payments were aimed at helping eligible Medicare Part B enrollees cover their premiums.
Trump claimed those Americans were overcharged during the Biden administration through fees used to operate HealthCare.gov, leaving the federal government sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in surplus funds.
'That money belongs to hard–working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!' Trump said in an accompanying letter, CBS News reported.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Mailyan's attorneys, Mark Hardiman and Phillip Kanarsh, and the DOJ for comment.
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