A California physician who prosecutors say cheated Medicare out of more than $45 million has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after spending the proceeds on luxury homes, expensive vehicles and rare collectibles, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
Violetta Mailyan, 45, was found guilty in May by a Central District of California jury on nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstructing a criminal investigation into a health care offense. Authorities said she falsely billed Medicare for Botox treatments that were never performed.
The Glendale resident used the fraud proceeds to purchase five California properties, along with two Tesla vehicles, one of them a Cybertruck.
Mailyan’s conviction is among the most notable recent Medicare fraud cases as Vice President JD Vance leads a federal task force focused on combating health care scams.
The DOJ previously reported that Mailyan held four properties in Surfside and Glendale, California, with a combined equity value of approximately $7.3 million.
Her spending also included high-end collectibles, such as a 17th-century crossbow valued at $12,000 and a $3,000 painting depicting Ludwig I, Crown Prince of Bavaria.
Prosecutors said Mailyan owned and ran Healthy Way Medical Center, a clinic that advertised beauty and cosmetic treatments. According to the government, she submitted claims to Medicare for thousands of Botox injections that patients never received.
More than $19 million in claims involved injections supposedly administered on dates when the clinic was closed, prosecutors said.
The false billing continued while Mailyan was traveling, including trips to Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and New York, according to court evidence.
Violetta Mailyan, 45, of Glendale, received a 15-year federal prison sentence after being convicted of nine wire fraud counts and three counts of obstructing a criminal health care investigation
Prosecutors presented a photograph from Mailyan’s phone showing Cabo, Mexico, on the same day she billed Medicare $34,560 for treatments she claimed were performed in Glendale
Mailyan also billed more than $200,000 for treatments she allegedly provided to California patients while she was actually vacationing on a beach in Cabo.
One image taken from her phone showed a scenic view of the Mexican resort on the very day she submitted a $34,560 Medicare claim for services purportedly delivered in Glendale.
Medicare may reimburse providers for Botox injections when the treatment is medically necessary for documented chronic migraine cases.
Authorities said Mailyan instead sought payment for thousands of injections that either were never administered or did not involve the qualifying migraine treatment.
When investigators began closing in, prosecutors said Mailyan falsified medical records in an effort to conceal the alleged Medicare fraud.
She also forged the signatures of Medicare beneficiaries, including one man who was incarcerated during the period when she claimed to have treated him.
Mailyan then submitted the fabricated documents to federal investigators, attempting to create the impression that she had treated patients she had never seen, prosecutors said.
The records were provided after she received a grand jury subpoena demanding patients’ medical files, according to the prosecution.
The timing of Mailyan’s transfer to federal prison had not been announced.
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
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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.