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Woman Indicted In Alleged $33 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Glendale woman was charged Thursday with taking part in an alleged $33 million scheme to defraud Medicare.

A federal grand jury indicted Angela Avetisyan, 38, on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Avetisyan was the co-pwner of Fifth Avenue Home Health and served as office manager at a Los Angeles medical clinic owned and operated by Dr. Robert A. Glazer, who her co-defendant.

Court documents allege that Avetisyan and Glazer, 67, billed Medicare for services that were either not medically necessary, or never even provided, for more than eight years, beginning in  January 2006.

Glazer is also accused of signing prescriptions, certifications and other documents for home health and hospice services, power wheelchairs and other equipment that was also deemed medically unnecessary.

Prosecutor said that Avetisya would knowingly sell the prescriptions and certifications to suppliers, home health agencies and other providers. Those firms — including Fifth Avenue Home Health — then allegedly submitted the false and fraudulent claims for payment from Medicare.

Court documents state that the pair is responsible for about $33 million in false and fraudulent claims, and Medicare paid out about $22 million.

A federal grand jury indicated Glazer, a Hollywood resident,on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in June.

A trial is tentatively set for February.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

 

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