FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 5, 2018 • HEALTH • THE QUEENS COURIER 49
Queens docs & pharmacists nabbed in huge Medicare fraud sting
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Several health care professionals from
Queens were among 13 people charged
on Th ursday in Brooklyn and Long
Island for bilking Medicare and Medicaid
out of millions of dollars in fraudulent
claims, prosecutors announced.
According to U.S. Attorney Richard
Donoghue, all of the suspects wound up
billing the two government-run health
care programs for $163 million in claims
for unnecessary medical care. In some
instances, they allegedly recruited individuals
to fi ll prescriptions or undergo physical
or occupational therapy, then provided
the purported patients with kickbacks aft er
cashing in on the fi led claims.
“As alleged, the defendants charged
throughout the Eastern District of
New York as part of the nationwide
health care takedown abused their positions
to enrich themselves, while bilking
Medicare and Medicaid,” Donoghue
said. “Th ey did so without regard to the
elderly and vulnerable citizens whose
health depends upon these essential programs.”
Among the arrested individuals was
Mayura Kanekar, 43, an occupational
therapist from Bayside arrested last July
for allegedly conspiring with three other
health care professionals to fi led more
than $100 million in fraudulent Medicare
claims out of practices in Brooklyn and
Queens.
In the indictment announced on June
28, Kanekar along with three others connected
to the practices allegedly paid
kickbacks for the referral of patients to
their practices. Th e patients then received
unnecessary therapy and other services
for which Medicare was billed for more
than $116 million. Prosecutors said the
cooperating patients later received kickbacks
for the participation.
In a separate indictment, Artem
Ashirov, 42, of Rego Park, is allegedly
accused of bilking Medicare and
Medicaid out of $14.9 million through
claims submitted between 2015 and 2018
from ABO Pharmacy, which he owns and
operates in Brooklyn. According to prosecutors,
Ashirov allegedly off ered to pay
kickbacks to customers for submitting
various prescriptions at his pharmacy.
Briarwood resident Yuri Barayev, 43,
the owner of Woodhaven Rx Pharmacy
located at 62-06 Woodhaven Blvd. in
Rego Park, allegedly submitted claims
for medications that he never dispensed
to patients. Between November 2013
and December 2015, federal agents said,
Barayev submitted more than $6.6 million
in fraudulent claims.
Federal prosecutors also announced
that Young Jun Kim, 48, who operated
the defunct My Health Wellness
Center in Flushing, allegedly submitted
$5.6 million in fraudulent Medicare
claims between 2012 and 2015. Th e government
wound up paying him approximately
$3.5 million for physical therapy
services that Kim either did not provide
or were not medically necessary, or did
not qualify for Medicare coverage.
Finally, Dr. Harold Bendelstein, 57, of
Far Rockaway was charged for allegedly
billing Medicare and Medicaid $585,000
in fraudulent claims between January
2014 and February 2018. According to
prosecutors, he allegedly claimed that
he performed incision procedures on
patients’ ears, though an investigation
determined that no such procedures
occurred.
All of the suspects were booked on
a variety of criminal counts including
health care fraud, violating the Anti-
Kickback Statute, making false claims,
money laundering and conspiracy to
commit health care fraud.
Th e nationwide crackdown was conducted
by the Medicare Fraud Task Force
and resulted in 601 individuals being
charged for fi ling $2 billion in fraudulent
claims.
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