Moscow-based telemedicine criminal organization

Anthony Santamaria sentenced to 10 years in prison plus forfeiture of $3.2 million. Co-defendants Hershel Tsikman (120 months) and Hafizullah Ebady (97 months plus $1.8 million forfeiture) were sentenced earlier. Restitution to be determined. One defendant remains at large.

Three members of a Moscow-based criminal organization were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their roles in an approximately $2 billion international health care fraud scheme. The organization billed nearly $2 billion in fraudulent prescriptions through over 75 pharmacies across the United States, with private insurers paying over $758 million.

Between 2017 and 2022, the defendants operated sham call centers in Utah and Russia contacting beneficiaries and offering free medications without medical exams. They generated fraudulent prescriptions, recruited doctors who were told they would review telemedicine visits when in most cases no visits occurred, and operated pharmacies through straw owners. They submitted over $1.97 billion in fraudulent prescriptions across Brooklyn, Staten Island, Long Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, and Alabama.