Los Angeles Doctor and Patient Recruiter Found Guilty in $33 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
A federal jury found a Los Angeles doctor and patient recruiter guilty today for their roles in a $33 million Medicare fraud scheme in which Medicare was billed for clinic, home health, hospice services and durable medical equipment that patients did not need or did not receive.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna of the Central District of California, Assistant Director in Charge Paul D. Delacourt of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector Generals (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Korner of the IRS Criminal Investigations of the Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
Following a seven-day trial, Robert Glazer, M.D., 73, of Los Angeles, California, the owner and operator of the Glazer Clinic located in Los Angeles, California, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 12 counts of health care fraud. Co-defendant Marina Merino, 62, of Los Angeles, California, a marketer who recruited patients in exchange for kickback payments, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and eight counts of health care fraud. Glazer and Merino are expected to be sentenced on Sept. 9, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II of the Central District of California, who presided over the trial.
Glazer and Merino were charged in a June 2015 superseding indictment, along with Angela Avetisyan, the officer manager of Glazer Clinic and co-owner of Fifth Avenue Home Health located in Los Angeles, California (Fifth Avenue), and Ashot Minasyan, co-owner of Fifth Avenue.
Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/los-angeles-doctor-and-patient-recruiter-found-guilty-33-million-medicare-fraud-scheme