We, the American taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries, were betrayed.
While we trusted the healthcare system to protect us, Dr. Violetta Mailyan was allegedly doing the opposite — lining her pockets instead of caring for patients. According to federal prosecutors, Violetta Mailyan, a 45-year-old cosmetic doctor and owner of Healthy Way Medical Center in Glendale, California, is accused of stealing more than $45 million from us — the taxpayers — through sham Medicare Botox claims.
Federal investigators say the injections we supposedly paid for were never medically necessary and often never happened at all. In some cases, claims were submitted while patients were traveling overseas. In other cases, claims were filed while Mailyan herself was out of the country — or when her clinic was completely closed.
One allegation is especially shocking: a Medicare claim was submitted for Botox injections supposedly given to a patient who was actually in federal prison. That means money meant to support real medical needs was allegedly siphoned away without any care provided — a direct theft from us.
When authorities began investigating, Violetta Mailyan allegedly tried to cover her tracks. Prosecutors say she falsified medical records after receiving a grand jury subpoena, attempting to obstruct the investigation and hide the scale of the fraud.
This week, a federal grand jury in California returned a superseding indictment charging Violetta Mailyan with nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstructing a healthcare fraud investigation. Each wire fraud charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, while each obstruction charge carries up to five years.
This wasn’t a victimless crime. Every fraudulent claim allegedly filed by Violetta Mailyan drained public funds that were supposed to help real patients, real seniors, and real families. Instead, prosecutors say, those funds were diverted for personal gain.
We trusted the system.
We paid into Medicare.
And according to federal authorities, Violetta Mailyan allegedly exploited that trust on a massive scale.