Maksim Shelikhov

On November 22, 2013, Maksim Shelikhov was sentenced to 2-and-a-half-years in prison and ordered to pay $50.9 million in restitution, joint and several, after pleading guilty conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Shelikhov was detained November 14, 2011 by law enforcement in Canada and transported to the United States to face charges.

In October 2010, Shelikhov and co-conspirators were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks, and health care fraud for their part in an alleged scheme to defraud the Medicare program of over $71 million.

Bay Medical Care PC, SVS Wellcare Medical PLLC, and SZS Medical Care PLLC all operated in Brooklyn, New York, and purported to provide physical therapy, nerve conduction tests, vestibular function tests, allergy services, and sleep studies.

Shelikhov was the signatory of a bank account into which Medicare reimbursement was made for SZS Medical. According to the indictment, Shelikhov and his co-conspirators recruited and paid cash to Medicare beneficiaries for participating in medically unnecessary testing and procedures that were never actually provided. Shelikhov and his co-conspirators allegedly created fraudulent medical records for these beneficiaries and then billed Medicare for false and fraudulent claims.