A California doctor is on the run after being sentenced to prison for a massive Medicare fraud scheme.
$1.5 Million Medicare Fraud
61-year-old Lilit Gagikovna Baltaian of Porter Ranch, California, was sentenced in absentia to four and a half years in prison for healthcare fraud. The Department of Justice (DOJ) says she defrauded the government out of nearly $1.5 million between 2012 and 2018.
The Scheme
Baltaian falsely certified patients for home healthcare services. She provided certifications to at least four Los Angeles-area home health agencies, allowing them to fraudulently bill Medicare. In some cases, she pre-signed blank forms, knowing the agencies would fill them out falsely to make it seem like she’d examined the patients and determined they needed home care – which she hadn’t done. She received cash payments for these referrals and also billed Medicare separately for signing the fraudulent certifications.
Fugitive Doctor
Despite pleading guilty to healthcare fraud last November, Baltaian has vanished and is now considered a fugitive.