A California woman was arrested in Los Angeles on criminal health care fraud charges arising from her false home health certifications and related fraudulent billings to Medicare.
According to court documents, Lilit Gagikovna Baltaian, 58, of Porter Ranch, operated two medical clinics in the Los Angeles area. From approximately January 2012 to July 2018, Baltaian allegedly falsely certified patients to receive home health care from at least four Los Angeles area home health agencies. Baltaian’s false certifications were used by the home health agencies to fraudulently bill Medicare for the unnecessary home health care. Baltaian allegedly received a cash benefit related to these referrals and also submitted claims to Medicare for signing the fraudulent certifications and for patient visits and injections that were not needed and/or provided.
As further alleged in court documents, between January 2012 and July 2018, four home health agencies used Baltaian’s false certifications to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare, resulting in a total of approximately $6,029,674 paid on those claims.
Baltaian is charged with four counts of health care fraud. If convicted, Baltaian faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
