Violetta Mailyan
| Violetta Mailyan | |
|---|---|
| Born: | |
| Occupation: | Physician |
| Known for: | Healthy Way Medical Center; $45 million Medicare Botox fraud scheme |
| Charges: | Wire fraud (9 counts), Obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense (3 counts) |
| Sentence: |
|
| Facility: | |
| Status: | Convicted, awaiting sentencing |
Violetta Mailyan (born c. 1981) is a California physician convicted in May 2026 of a $45 million scheme to defraud Medicare through fraudulent billing for Botox injections. She owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center, a Glendale, California clinic that marketed beauty and cosmetic services.[1]
A federal jury in the Central District of California found her guilty on May 18, 2026. The verdict covered nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstructing a criminal investigation of a health care offense. Trial evidence showed she billed Medicare for thousands of Botox injections that were never provided or were medically unnecessary. Some were billed while she was on vacation. Some fell on days her clinic was closed. One was billed for a patient who was sitting in federal prison at the time. Prosecutors said she fabricated patient records to dress up the billings, then altered documents after a grand jury subpoena arrived.[1]
The case started with a referral from the Health Care Fraud Section's Data Analytics Team, which flagged Mailyan as the doctor paid more than any other in the United States for Botox. The FBI called it the largest Botox fraud scheme in the country. After the conviction, the jury also found that two Tesla vehicles, more than $7.3 million in brokerage accounts, $251,124 in bank funds, and four properties were proceeds of the fraud subject to forfeiture. Sentencing is set for September 10, 2026.[1]
Background
Violetta Mailyan was a physician in the Glendale and greater Los Angeles area of California. She owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center, a clinic that, according to court documents, purported to provide beauty and cosmetic services.[1] Court records list her age as 45 at the time of her December 2025 indictment and her residence as Glendale, California, in Los Angeles County.[2]
Medicare covers Botox in narrow circumstances. Botulinum toxin qualifies when it treats documented chronic migraine. Cosmetic use does not qualify. Coverage for migraine treatment generally requires a referral from the patient's primary care physician.[1] The fraud charges centered on billing Medicare for cosmetic and nonexistent injections as if they were medically necessary migraine treatments.[1]
The Botox Fraud Scheme
Court documents and trial evidence showed Mailyan billed Medicare for thousands of Botox injections that were never provided or were not medically necessary. She claimed the injections treated chronic migraines. In reality they were cosmetic, or they went to patients whose primary care physicians had never referred them for migraine treatment.[1]
The government laid out billings that were physically impossible. Mailyan billed for injections on dates she was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Maui, Hawaii; Las Vegas; Pennsylvania; and New York. She billed for injecting a Medicare beneficiary who was locked up in federal prison at the time. She billed for thousands of injections, more than $19 million worth, supposedly given on days the clinic was closed.[1]
She also backdated claims. Some injections were billed for dates before the patient had even called to book an appointment. To paper over it, she fabricated medical records and patient consent forms showing chronic migraines and treatment that never happened.[1]
How the scheme was detected
The investigation began with a referral from the Health Care Fraud Section's Data Analytics Team. The numbers told the story. Mailyan had been paid more by Medicare for Botox than any other doctor in the United States.[1] Over four years that came to more than $24 million, six times the next highest group of providers, all of them neurologists. She stood out as an extreme statistical outlier, and the outlier status traced back to a long-running fraud scheme.[1]
The FBI's Los Angeles Field Office called it the largest Botox fraud scheme in the United States.[1]
Use of proceeds
Trial evidence showed Mailyan spent the Medicare money on vacations in Mexico, Hawaii, and elsewhere, plus luxury collectibles. The purchases included a $12,000 17th-century crossbow and a $3,000 painting.[1]
Obstruction of the investigation
The obstruction charges grew out of a grand jury subpoena for medical records. After it landed, Mailyan altered patient records to show migraine injections she had never given. She handed the altered documents to federal agents.[1] That conduct drove the three counts of obstructing a criminal investigation of a health care offense.[1]
Charges and Conviction
A federal grand jury in the Central District of California returned a superseding indictment against Mailyan on December 17, 2025, which the Department of Justice announced the following day. The indictment charged her with nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstructing a criminal investigation of a health care offense.[2]
The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sandor Callahan and Jeffrey A. Crapko of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Vavere of the Central District of California's Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section handled the asset forfeiture matters.[1]
The trial ran in federal court in the Central District of California. On May 18, 2026, the jury convicted Mailyan on all twelve counts, nine of wire fraud and three of obstruction.[1] The Department of Justice announced the verdict the next day.[1]
Forfeiture
Following the conviction, the jury returned a forfeiture finding. It found that the following assets were proceeds of the fraud and subject to forfeiture: a Tesla Model X, a Tesla Cybertruck, $251,124 held in multiple bank accounts, brokerage accounts valued at $7,312,037 at the time of seizure, and four properties in Surfside and Glendale, California, with combined estimated equity of $7,343,636.[1]
Penalties and sentencing
Mailyan faces up to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count and 5 years on each obstruction count.[1] A federal district court judge will set the sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for September 10, 2026.[1] As of June 2026 she is convicted but not yet sentenced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is Violetta Mailyan?
Violetta Mailyan is a California physician who owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center, a Glendale clinic that marketed beauty and cosmetic services. In May 2026 a federal jury convicted her of running a $45 million scheme to defraud Medicare through fraudulent billing for Botox injections.
Q: What did Violetta Mailyan do?
She billed Medicare for thousands of Botox injections that were never provided or were medically unnecessary. Trial evidence showed she billed for injections supposedly given while she was on vacation, on days her clinic was closed, and on a date when the named patient was in federal prison. She also fabricated patient records and altered documents in response to a grand jury subpoena.
Q: What was Violetta Mailyan convicted of?
On May 18, 2026, a federal jury in the Central District of California convicted her of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstructing a criminal investigation of a health care offense.
Q: What is Healthy Way Medical Center?
Healthy Way Medical Center is the Glendale, California clinic that Mailyan owned and operated. Court documents say it purported to provide beauty and cosmetic services. It was the entity through which she billed Medicare for the Botox injections at the center of the fraud case.
Q: How much money was involved in the Botox fraud scheme?
Prosecutors charged a scheme involving more than $45 million in false and fraudulent Medicare claims for Botox injections. Over four years Mailyan had been paid more than $24 million for Botox, more than any other doctor in the United States.
Q: How was Violetta Mailyan caught?
The investigation began with a referral from the Health Care Fraud Section's Data Analytics Team, which identified her as an extreme statistical outlier. Its analysis showed she had been paid more by Medicare for Botox than any other doctor in the country, six times the next highest group of providers.
Q: What assets were seized from Violetta Mailyan?
After the conviction, the jury found that a Tesla Model X, a Tesla Cybertruck, $251,124 in bank accounts, brokerage accounts valued at $7,312,037 at the time of seizure, and four properties in Surfside and Glendale, California, were proceeds of the fraud subject to forfeiture.
Q: When will Violetta Mailyan be sentenced?
Mailyan is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10, 2026. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and 5 years for each obstruction count. A federal judge will set the sentence using the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Q: Which agencies investigated the Violetta Mailyan case?
The FBI's Los Angeles Field Office and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General investigated the case. The Criminal Division's Fraud Section prosecuted it, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California handling asset forfeiture.
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 "California Doctor Convicted of $45M Botox Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare". U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Doctor Indicted for Orchestrating $45M Botox Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare". U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. Retrieved 2026-06-04.