In the United States, California-based doctor Violeta Mayilyan has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for committing a fraud exceeding $45 million within the Medicare federal medical program, reports the U.S. Department of Justice press service.
According to the report, she submitted payment claims for Botox injections that were not performed, lacked medical indications, or were carried out purely for cosmetic purposes.
American media sources identify this as the largest Botox injection-related fraud to date.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 45-year-old Mayilyan was the owner of the Healthy Way Medical Center clinic in Glendale, which offered beauty and cosmetology services. Medicare reimburses the costs of Botox injections when they are medically necessary for treating chronic migraines and prescribed based on appropriate medical indications.
However, the doctor submitted payment claims for thousands of interventions that were never actually performed. Moreover, she reported services exceeding $19 million on days when the clinic was closed. In other cases, Mayilyan claimed payments for procedures performed in California while she was vacationing in Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, and other locations. On one particular day, while resting on a beach in Cabo, Mexico, she declared medical services worth over $200,000.
When federal investigators approached uncovering the scheme, Mayilyan attempted to conceal the fraud by forging medical documents and patient signatures. Among them was a man who was incarcerated in a federal prison during the stated period.
She spent the procured funds on luxury items including a 17th-century crossbow valued at $12,000, a $3,000 painting, Tesla vehicles including a Cybertruck, and real estate acquisitions in California.
In May 2026, a grand jury court found Mayilyan guilty of nine counts of electronic communication fraud and three counts of obstruction of a healthcare investigation. In addition to the 15-year prison sentence, the court ordered the seizure of assets worth over $16 million and mandated the defendant to pay Medicare approximately $32.9 million in damages.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.
