Glendale doctor convicted in $45M botox fraud scheme

LOS ANGELES (KESQ) - A Glendale doctor has been convicted of federal charges for submitting more than $45 million in bogus claims to Medicare for Botox injections that were medically unnecessary or never provided, and for using falsified documents to attempt to obstruct an investigation, officials announced today.   

Violetta Mailyan, 45, was found guilty late Monday in Los Angeles federal court of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstructing a criminal investigation of health care offenses, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mailyan operated Healthy Way Medical Center in Glendale, which billed Medicare for Botox injections, sometimes on dates when the defendant was traveling internationally or on dates when the beneficiaries who supposedly received the services were traveling or in prison, and on dates when the medical center was closed, evidence showed.   

Mailyan faces up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and five years in prison on each obstruction count, prosecutors said.   

A sentencing date has not been scheduled.