U.S. Justice Department officials on Monday identified three California men as among hundreds of defendants nationwide who were involved in $14.6 billion in fraud schemes involving Medicare, other federal health care benefit programs and illegally diverted drugs.

The charges filed in U. S. District Court in San Francisco by U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian and his counterparts across the U.S. stemmed from what Attorney General Pamela Bondi called a “record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown [that] delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers.”

U. S. attorneys and state attorneys general across the country joined in a strategically coordinated, nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and illegal drug diversion schemes that involved the submission of over $14.6 billion in alleged false billings and over 15 million pills of illegally diverted controlled substances.

Prosecutors said the hundreds of defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled. The Justice Department reported it has seized over $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, and other assets from the defendants.

“Make no mistake – this administration will not tolerate criminals who line their pockets with taxpayer dollars while endangering the health and safety of our communities,” Bondi said in a statement on Monday

Among the defendants named Monday were Vincent Thayer, 41, of San Jose, and Sevendik Huseynov, 47, of Sunnyvale, who were alleged to have been involved in more than $205 million in fraudulent claims, according to a press release from Missakian’s office.

The Justice Department said the charges in the nationwide scams included various schemes, including a doctor who submitted unnecessary claims for medical equipment, individuals who ran or participated in fraud schemes to obtain money from federally funded health insurance programs through false claims and a nurse who diverted pain medication for his own use.

“Fraud and abuse in our health care system all too often result in harm to the elderly and sick and a loss to the American taxpayer,” Missakian said in a statement. “The five cases announced today reflect the far-reaching impact of health care fraud and my office’s commitment to prosecuting schemes that target these vital programs. We will hold accountable any person who chooses greed over patient well-being.”

Missakian today announced that his office for the Northern District of California, as part of the nationwide investigation, charged five men:

Thayer, 41, of San Jose, was charged by indictment with wire fraud, health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with a $68 million medical office visit scheme.

As alleged in the indictment, the Thayer-owned Patient Payment Agent, which did business as My Community Testing,  submitted approximately $68.2 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program. Of this, approximately $11.8 million was paid to Thayer’s company, for office visits purportedly performed by medical professionals but that never occurred. Thayer also is accused of misappropriating the identity of a doctor to enroll his company in Medicare and Medi-Cal.

Huseynov, 47, is a national of Azerbaijan who lives in Sunnyvale and is the owner and CEO of Vonyes, Inc. also in Sunnyvale. Huseynov was charged by criminal complaint and arrested on June 26.  The complaint alleges that he committed health care fraud through a scheme to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare Advantage Organizations on behalf of unsuspecting beneficiaries for durable medical equipment.

The complaint alleges that Huseynov, from Jan. 15 through June 16 of this year, submitted more than 7,200 claims through Vonyes to at least eight separate providers offering Medicare Part C benefit plans, and that those claims sought reimbursement of more than $137 million for medical equipment such as back braces, knee braces and wrist braces.

The complaint alleges that some of the purported beneficiaries contacted by law enforcement were not aware of the prescriptions and did not need the medical equipment. The complaint also alleges that a healthcare provider listed as a referring physician on many billing claims had never prescribed the equipment supplied by Vonyes and that the patients listed on those claims were not his patients.

The complaint also alleges that a review of bank records for Vonyes and Huseynov did not show any purchases of actual medical equipment.  Prosecutors said at least $761,000 was paid to Vonyes, into accounts controlled solely by Huseynov.

Clinton Johnson Christian, 38, of Fairfield, was charged by indictment with tampering with consumer products and intentionally obtaining controlled substances through deception and subterfuge in connection with diverting a controlled substance for his personal use. Christian is accused of accessing a machine that held hydromorphone by falsely stating a patient needed the controlled substance, removed a vial of hydromorphone, extracted the hydromorphone and re-filled the vial with saline before replacing the vial and cancelling the patient’s order.

Dr. Yasmin Pirani, 46, of British Columbia, Canada, was charged by indictment with health care fraud and false statements related to health care matters in connection with a $35.2 million telemedicine fraud scheme.

Patrick Omeife, 33, of Ghana, was charged by indictment with two counts of concealment money laundering in connection with a scheme to launder approximately $33,765 that was fraudulently disbursed from a federal COVID-19 relief program and intended for an optometrist whose identity had been stolen. Omeife is accused of falsely identifying himself as a covert agent of the U.S. government,and beginning an online romantic relationship with a woman from whom he convinced to use her bank account in 2020 to receive his salary.

“Healthcare fraud is not a victimless crime. It drains critical resources from healthcare programs, undermines public trust, and ultimately steals from American taxpayers. The FBI is committed to rooting out health care fraud in all its forms, working alongside our law enforcement partners to hold perpetrators accountable and protect the integrity of our nation's healthcare system,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani.

In addition to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, the Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, New England, Northeast, and Texas Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices from around the country; and State Attorney Generals’ Offices for Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are prosecuting the cases in the National Health Care Fraud Takedown, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team.

The Northern District of California worked with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Health Care Fraud Unit and the following law enforcement organizations to investigate and prosecute the cases filed during the enforcement period: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI and the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations.

 

Three decades of journalism experience, as a writer and editor with Gannett, Knight-Ridder and Lee newspapers, as a business journal editor and publisher and as a weekly newspaper editor in Scotts Valley and Gilroy; with the Weeklys group since 2017. Recipient of several first-place writing and editing awards, California News Publishers Association.