Doctor Indicted for Orchestrating $45M Botox Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare

A federal grand jury in California returned a superseding indictment yesterday charging a doctor for allegedly submitting more than $45 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for Botox injections and for obstructing a criminal investigation by allegedly submitting falsified medical records in response to a grand jury subpoena.

According to court documents, Violetta Mailyan, 45, of Los Angeles County, owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center (Healthy Way), which allegedly billed Medicare for Botox injections that were medically unnecessary and never provided, including for injections on dates when Mailyan was traveling internationally, on dates when the Medicare beneficiary who supposedly received the services was traveling internationally, on dates when the Medicare beneficiary who supposedly received the services was in federal prison, and on dates when Healthy Way was closed.

Mailyan is charged with nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstructing a criminal investigation of health care offenses. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and five years in prison on each obstruction count.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

FBI and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Sandor Callahan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.