LOS ANGELES–The owner and operator of three medical clinics located in Los Angeles pleaded guilty Tuesday to submitting more than $4.5 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.
Hovik Simitian, 48, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell of the Central District of California to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 16.
Simitian owned and operated three medical clinics that were located in the Los Angeles area: Columbia Medical Group Inc., Life Care Medical Clinic and Safe Health Medical Clinic. In connection with his guilty plea, Simitian admitted that, from approximately February 2010 through June 2014, he and his co-conspirators paid cash kickbacks to patient recruiters who brought Medicare beneficiaries to the clinics. Simitian also admitted that he and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for lab tests and other services that either were not medically necessary or were not actually provided to the Medicare beneficiaries, and that, to support the bills to Medicare, he and others created false documentation reflecting that the services had been provided.
Simitian further admitted that, between February 2010 and June 2014, he and his co-conspirators submitted approximately $4,526,791 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. Medicare paid approximately $1,668,559 of those claims.
