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Tamar Tatarian, Medicare Fraud, California 2019
A federal jury in Los Angeles, California, has found a pharmacy owner guilty of her role in a Medicare fraud scheme involving more than $1.3 million in fraudulent claims for prescription drugs.
Tamar Tatarian, 39, of Pasadena, California, was convicted of one count of health care fraud and two counts of wire fraud after a two-day trial. Sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 25, 2019, before U.S. District Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California.
Tatarian was the owner of Akhtamar Pharmacy in Pasadena. According to evidence presented at trial, from approximately October 2015 through approximately October 2017, Tatarian engaged in a scheme involving the submission of fraudulent claims to Medicare Part D plan sponsors for prescription drugs that Akhtamar Pharmacy never ordered from wholesalers, and thus never dispensed to Medicare beneficiaries.
Tatarian attempted to conceal the fraud through the creation of fake invoices, reflecting wholesale drug purchases by Akhtamar Pharmacy which had, in fact, never taken place. As a result of this scheme, Tatarian through Akhtamar Pharmacy submitted claims to Medicare for more than $1.3 million in prescription drugs that she never purchased or dispensed to patients, the evidence showed.
This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG. Trial Attorney Alexis Gregorian and Assistant Chief A. Brendan Stewart of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Justice Department and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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