Southern California officials arrested and charged a woman for allegedly creating fake home health care certifications that resulted in more than $6 million in fraudulent Medicare billings, federal authorities said.
Fraudulent Medicare Claims
Authorities arrested 58-year-old Lilit Gagikovna Baltaian from Porter Ranch after providing fake certifications to four separate home health agencies between January 2012 and July 2018. Health care agencies filed claims for Medicare reimbursement using the certifications.
The home health agencies filed claims for unnecessary or unprovided services to Medicare. Baltaian would then receive financial reimbursement for the referrals. The suspect is also known to have filed claims for their own reimbursements, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors said the suspect and the home health agencies were aware of the false documents before sending them to Medicare. Authorities charged Baltaian with four charges of health care fraud and could face up to 40 years in jail.
