A physician from Porter Ranch, Calif., was sentenced to 54 months in prison for falsifying home health certifications and fraudulently billing Medicare.
What happened?
- Lilit Baltaian, MD, was sentenced after pleading guilty in November to one count of healthcare fraud, according to a June 12 Justice Department news release. She is a fugitive and was sentenced in absentia.
- From January 2012 to July 2018, Dr. Baltaian falsely certified patients to receive home healthcare from at least four Los Angeles-area agencies. The certifications were used by the home health agencies to fraudulently bill Medicare.
- Medicare lost nearly $1.5 million as a result of the scheme.
- In addition to prison, Dr. Baltaian was also ordered to pay nearly $1.5 million in restitution.
