ALEXANDER D. MILMAN, 47, of Kirkland, Washington, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud. MILMAN owned A-Z Pharmacy with locations in Bellevue, Kent and Tacoma. The plea agreement also relates to MILMAN’s activities as the secret owner of Lakeshore Pharmacy in Kirkland. As part of the plea agreement, MILMAN will forfeit to the government three eastside properties, expensive jewelry, and other assets totaling nearly $1.7 million. The restitution amount is the amount paid by Medicaid for fraudulent bills submitted by MILMAN's Pharmacies.

According to documents filed in the case, MILMAN and his wife Valentina M. Milman, 40, recruited Medicaid patients to use their Pharmacy by offering gift certificates for Pharmacy goods. The MILMANs then created false records, including physician prescriptions and delivery receipts so that they could bill the government’s Medicaid program for drugs and medical supplies that were never delivered. The MILMANs billed Medicaid for more than $1.7 million in medical supplies and prescription drugs that were never delivered to Medicaid patients. When the Medicaid program suspended the MILMAN’s ability to bill Medicaid in November of 2004, the couple entered into a conspiracy with Oleg Ordinartsev, 38, and Vladimir Mitkovetski, 49, to hide their involvement with Lakeshore Pharmacy in Kirkland, Washington. Valentina Milman acted as the pharmacist at Lakeshore and Alexander Milman had an ownership interest in the pharmacy. The pharmacy submitted more than $200,000 in bills to Medicaid after the pharmacy had fraudulently obtained its Medicaid provider number. ALEXANDER MILMAN admits in his plea agreement that he attempted to hide money from the scheme by purchasing cashiers checks in amounts under $10,000 to avoid currency reporting requirements.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart must sentence MILMAN to 63 months in prison, or either side can withdraw from the plea agreement. MILMAN is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, 2007.

Three others involved in the scheme have already pleaded guilty. One of the coconspirators, Oleg Ordinartsev, admitted in his plea agreement that he submitted false paperwork to Medicaid hiding MILMAN’s ownership role. Ordinartsev pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud on July 6, 2007, and is scheduled to be sentenced October 9, 2007. Vladimir Mitkovetski, admits in his plea agreement that he lied to government investigators, claiming he was the sole owner of Lakeshore Pharmacy and that he was simply purchasing equipment from MILMAN. Under MILMAN’s direction Mitkovetski created false paperwork to hide MILMAN’s ownership of Lakeshore Pharmacy. Mitkovetski pleaded guilty to making a false statement on June 19, 2007, and is scheduled to be sentenced October 15, 2007. Valentina Milman pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and Conspiracy to Launder Money on December 7, 2006. She is scheduled to be sentenced October 15, 2007.

The case was investigated by U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the FBI, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Washington State Board of Pharmacy, the Washington State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Health and Recovery Services Administration and the Bellevue Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jim Lord, Peter Winn and Richard Cohen.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.

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