California doctor Violetta Mailyan was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison for using her medical practice to fraudulently bill Medicare more than $45 million for Botox injection services that were medically unnecessary and never provided.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Violetta Mailyan, 45, of Glendale, California, owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center, a clinic that purported to provide beauty and cosmetic services.
Although Medicare reimburses medical providers for Botox injections when necessary to treat documented cases of chronic migraines, Mailyan billed and received payments for thousands of injections that were never provided, were provided only for cosmetic purposes, or were given to patients whose primary care physicians had not referred them for treatment of chronic migraines. Evidence also showed that Mailyan billed for…
Investment fraud targets the human desire for financial growth by promising high returns with “low to no risk.”
- Ponzi Schemes: Named after Charles Ponzi, these schemes pay “returns” to earlier investors using the capital brought in by newer investors. There is no actual underlying business; the system collapses when new recruitment slows down.
- Pyramid Schemes: Similar to Ponzi schemes, but participants are usually required to sell a product or service. The primary “profit” comes from the recruitment fees of new members rather than actual product sales.
- Pump and Dump: Fraudsters spread false, positive rumors about a cheap stock (the “pump”) to drive up the price. Once the price peaks, they sell their shares (the “dump”), leaving other investors with worthless stock.