Fugitive
Irina Shelikhova
Fugitive Status | sentenced |
---|---|
Charges | Conspiracy to commit money laundering |
Amount of Arrears | $50,900,000 |
Investigation Details
On November 12, 2013, Irina Shelikhova was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay $50.9 million in restitution, joint and several. Shelikhova previous plead guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. After serving her sentence, Shelikhova will face deportation from the United States.
In October 2011, an indictment was handed down charging Shelikhova and co-conspirators with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks, health care fraud, money laundering, and money laundering conspiracy. Investigators believe that Shelikhova was the primary player in a scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $70 million.
According to the indictment, Shelikhova was an authorized signatory on the bank accounts of a conglomerate of medical clinics in the New York City area. Shelikhova managed the daily operations of the medical clinics and worked with co-conspirators to direct individuals who conducted financial transactions for the medical clinics.
From approximately March 2005 until July 2010, Shelikhova and her co-conspirators allegedly paid cash kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries to induce them to receive unnecessary physicians' services, physical therapy, and diagnostic tests at the medical clinics. The co-conspirators created fraudulent medical records for these beneficiaries and then filed false claims with Medicare for these medical services, which either were never provided or were not medically necessary.
Shelikhova fled the United States in July 2010 and was suspected to be residing in Ukraine. On June 14, 2012, she was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as she attempted to enter the United States at JFK Airport in New York.
- Health Care Fraud