LOS ANGELES – A stunning eight-year prison sentence was handed down today to Lianna ‘Lili’ Ovsepian, the mastermind behind a brazen $20 million healthcare fraud scheme that exploited low-income beneficiaries of Medicare and Medi-Cal.
Ovsepian, 33, of Tujunga, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit identity theft. She was sentenced by United States District Judge S. James Otero, who declared, ‘we can’t have a situation where crime pays.’
The scheme, which generated thousands of fraudulent prescriptions for expensive anti-psychotic medications, was run out of Manor Medical Imaging, Inc. in Glendale, a clinic owned and operated by Ovsepian. The prescriptions, which appeared to be issued by co-conspirator Dr. Kenneth Johnson, were filled by pharmacies and then returned to Manor, where they were sold on the black market.
The beneficiaries, many of whom were homeless, elderly, or recruited from dual diagnosis programs for drug addiction and schizophrenia, were given nominal payments – usually around $100 – for their participation in the scheme. The medications were then re-billed to healthcare programs, with over $9.1 million being paid out on more than 14,000 claims submitted in relation to the scheme.
The case, known as Operation ‘Psyched Out,’ was a joint investigation involving the San Marino Police Department, the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, the United States Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, and other agencies.
Ovsepian oversaw a scheme that involved several family members and other co-conspirators. In total, 16 defendants have been convicted either through guilty pleas or by jury verdicts. Ovsepian’s brother, Artak Ovsepian, and co-conspirators Dr. Johnson and Nuritsa Grigoryan are currently pending sentencing.
As part of her sentence, Ovsepian was ordered to pay $9,146,137 in restitution to Medicare and Medi-Cal. The case marks the first national case alleging an organized scheme to defraud government healthcare programs through fraudulent claims for anti-psychotic medications.
Related Federal Cases
- Lianna ‘Lili’ Ovsepian, Healthcare Fraud, California 2011 · California
- Lianna ‘Lili’ Ovsepian, Healthcare Fraud, California 2011 · California
- Gary J. Ordog, Medicare Fraud, California 2015 · Illinois
- Mark Roemer, Bid Rigging and Mail Fraud, California 2023 · Illinois
- Volodymyr Dubinsky, Mail Fraud, California 2026 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
ðŸâ€â€™ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Fraud & Financial CrimesFraud & Financial CrimesFraud & Financial CrimesFraud & Financial Crimes