MANAGER OF TUJUNGA BUSINESS SENTENCED TO OVER FOUR YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON IN MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME

LOS ANGELES – The manager of a Tujunga medical supply company that fraudulently sought more than $1 million from the Medicare program for unneeded electric wheelchairs, hospital beds, and other durable medical equipment has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison.

Petros Odachyan, 45, of North Hollywood, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II.

Odachyan, the manager of RL Medical Supply, pleaded guilty in June 2010 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Odachyan bilked the Medicare program by submitting claims for durable medical equipment that was unnecessary and, in many instances, never provided to patients. As part of the scheme, Odachyan submitted claims to Medicare that were supported by forged prescriptions. While the forged prescriptions identified actual Medicare beneficiaries, these beneficiaries had not obtained the prescriptions, and did not need or did not receive the durable medical equipment. RL Medical Supply submitted more than $1 million worth of fraudulent claims to Medicare, which paid out approximately $600,000.

Odachyan was arrested in May 2008 after an investigation by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a multi-agency team comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); the Fraud Section in the Criminal Division at the United States Department of Justice in Washington; and the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

The investigation into RL Medical Supply was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.

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