More than a year ago, federal officials noticed something fishy about a Glendale-based doctor: she had collected more in Medicare Botox reimbursements than any other provider in the nation.
During a four-year period beginning in 2020, Violetta Mailyan pocketed more than $25 million for Botox injections through Medicare payments, more than five times what any other doctor made in the same time frame, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
Turns out, it was all part of an elaborate fraud scheme that prosecutors say ignored Medicare’s rules for Botox coverage and brazenly fabricated medical records, all to fund the doctor’s lavish lifestyle.
Mailyan, 45, was convicted this week in federal court, accused of submitting more than $45 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for Botox injections and attempting to mislead investigators working on the case.
Prosecutors said she submitted claims for injections “that were never provided and medically unnecessary” from 2019 through 2025, working as the primary physician, owner and operator of Healthy Way Medical Center in Glendale.
Medicare reimburses providers for Botox injections only in specific circumstances, such as for chronic migraines or excessive muscle contractions, and it must be considered medically necessary and typically only after other interventions haven’t worked, according to court records from the case.
Instead, prosecutors said, “Mailyan billed and received payments for thousands of injections that were never provided or were provided only for cosmetic purposes.”
Mailyan also billed for injections performed while she was out of town, including while she was on vacation in Cabo, Hawaii, Las Vegas and New York, and on days her clinic was closed, the release said. She was also accused of billing for a Medicare patient who was currently incarcerated in federal prison.
Patrick Grandy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, called the case the “largest Botox fraud scheme in the United States.”
“Violetta Mailyan falsely diagnosed patients, fraudulently billed for Botox injections while she was actually on lavish vacations and tried to trick federal agents with fake records,” Assistant Atty. Gen. Colin M. McDonald, who works on the Justice Department’s national fraud enforcement division, said in a statement. “The Fraud Division’s data-driven approach will shine a light on fraud schemes across the country, ensuring that no doctor can engage in these types of brazen schemes to rob Medicare.”
The investigation also found that Mailyan used the Medicare payments to fund many of the vacations she took and purchase luxury collectibles such as a $12,000 17th century crossbow and a $3,000 painting, prosecutors said.
The jury that convicted Mailyan also determined that several of her assets were proceeds of the fraud scheme and, therefore, subject to forfeiture, including a Tesla Cybertruck, four properties in Surfside and Glendale worth more than $7 million total, more than $250,000 in multiple bank accounts and brokerage accounts valued at $7 million, the release said.
Mailyan was convicted of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense. She faces sentencing in September, with a maximum penalty of almost 200 years in prison — up to 20 years for each count of wire fraud and 5 years for each count of obstruction.
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