A California doctor who defrauded Medicare of more than $45 million by billing for Botox injections she never administered has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
asserted
she → defraud → prison
Violetta Mailyan, 45, used the proceeds of the elaborate healthcare fraud scheme to purchase multimillion-dollar properties, luxury cars and expensive collectibles, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
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Mailyan → use → Justice
Mailyan, who operated the Healthy Way Medical Center clinic in Glendale, California, was convicted in May by a federal jury in the Central District of California on nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation into a healthcare offence.
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who → operate → offence
Her sentence was announced by the DOJ on Friday.
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sentence → announce → Friday
In addition to the prison term, Mailyan has been ordered to forfeit more than $16 million in assets and pay approximately $32.9 million in restitution to Medicare.
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Mailyan → order → Medicare
Doctor billed Medicare for Botox injections she never administered
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she → bill → injections
According to prosecutors, Mailyan fraudulently billed Medicare for thousands of Botox injections that were either never administered or were not provided for the approved medical purpose of treating chronic migraines.
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that → accord → migraines
Medicare reimburses healthcare providers for Botox injections when they are required to treat documented cases of chronic migraines.
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they → reimburse → migraines
However, investigators found that Mailyan submitted claims for treatments that had not taken place.
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that → find → place
Prosecutors said she also billed Medicare for more than $19 million in injections supposedly administered on days when her clinic was closed.
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clinic → say → days
On several other occasions, she submitted claims while travelling outside California, including during trips to Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and New York.
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she → submit → Mexico
In one particularly striking example, Mailyan allegedly billed more than $200,000 for treatments supposedly provided to patients in California while she was actually vacationing in Cabo, Mexico.
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she → bill → Cabo
A photograph recovered from her phone and presented by prosecutors showed a scenic beach view in Cabo on a day she had billed Medicare $34,560 for services allegedly provided at her Glendale clinic.
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she → recover → clinic
Among the luxury items purchased by Violetta Mailyan were a 17th-century crossbow worth $12,000 and a painting valued at $3,000.
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crossbow → purchase → 3,000
The investigation also revealed that Mailyan attempted to cover up the fraudulent billing by falsifying medical records after investigators began examining her activities.
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investigators → reveal → activities
Prosecutors said she forged the signatures of Medicare beneficiaries, including one man who was in prison during the period when she claimed to have treated him.
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she → say → him
She also submitted the fabricated records to federal investigators after receiving a grand jury subpoena seeking medical documentation.
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She → submit → documentation
According to prosecutors, the records were intended to make it appear that she had provided treatments to patients she had never seen.
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she → accord → patients
The scale of her billing activity reportedly made her an extreme outlier among doctors receiving Medicare payments for Botox treatments.
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her → make → treatments
Prosecutors said Mailyan received six times the amount paid to the next-highest group of providers, which consisted entirely of neurologists.
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which → say → neurologists
Bought five properties, two Teslas and expensive collectibles
Violetta Mailyan used proceeds from the $45 million Medicare fraud to purchase five California properties and two Tesla vehicles, including a Cybertruck.
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Mailyan → buy → Cybertruck
Authorities said Mailyan used the proceeds of the Medicare fraud to fund an extravagant lifestyle.
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Mailyan → say → lifestyle
She purchased five pieces of California real estate, including properties in Surfside and Glendale.
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She → purchase → Surfside
The DOJ had previously said that four of her properties had combined equity of approximately $7.3 million.
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four → say → million
She also purchased two Tesla vehicles, one of them a Cybertruck.
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one → purchase → them
Her spending extended to rare and expensive collectibles.
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spending → extend → collectibles
Among the items she acquired were a 17th-century crossbow valued at approximately $12,000 and a painting of Ludwig I, Crown Prince of Bavaria, worth around $3,000.
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crossbow → acquire → Bavaria
As part of the sentence, Mailyan was ordered to forfeit more than $16 million in property, including bank funds, personal belongings, real estate and securities.
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Mailyan → order → funds
She must also pay approximately $32.9 million in restitution to Medicare.
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She → pay → Medicare
It was not immediately clear when she would begin serving her prison sentence.
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she → begin → sentence
Trump administration steps up efforts to tackle government fraud
The case comes amid the Trump administration's wider efforts to crack down on fraud involving government programmes.
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case → step → programmes
President Donald Trump established a task force to eliminate fraud in March and placed Vice President JD Vance in charge of the initiative.
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Trump → establish → initiative
The DOJ has said its work to combat fraud supports the administration's efforts.
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work → say → efforts
In October, Trump also announced a $25 million programme aimed at encouraging members of the public to report suspected government fraud.
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Trump → announce → fraud
Under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, individuals whose tips lead to a fraud conviction or significant federal enforcement action could receive up to $30,000.
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tips → lead → 30,000
The Justice Department will administer the programme.
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Department → administer → programme
During the announcement, Trump said the reward could amount to a one per cent commission on the amount of fraud uncovered through a tip.
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reward → say → tip
He also said he would decide who received the money if multiple people claimed responsibility for providing the information.
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people → say → information
Meanwhile, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz has raised concerns about possible organised fraud involving senior care centres.
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Oz → raise → centres
In October, Oz alleged that the Chinese mafia could be orchestrating Medicaid fraud through such facilities.
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mafia → allege → facilities
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
