Dr julian omidi biography of michael

A former doctor convicted of fraudulently submitting nearly $ million in claims related to the GET-THIN Lap-Band surgery business has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison.

Julian Omidi, 58, of West Hollywood was sentenced Monday by U.S.

District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee. The judge also imposed a five-year probation period on Surgery Center Management LLC, an Omidi-controlled Beverly Hills-based company.

In the coming weeks, Gee is expected to hold a separate hearing to decide on restitution and forfeiture in the case, along with setting a fine for the Beverly Hills company.

The GET-THIN billboards once dominated the Los Angeles landscape with claims of a one-hour procedure and an easy insurance verification process.

Dr julian omidi biography of michael jackson Benefit programs victimized by the billing scam include TriCare — the health care program for uniformed service members, retirees and their families around the world — and various private insurance companies. Ihman Shamaan, who performed Lap-Band surgeries at the clinics], testified that Michael Omidi put making money ahead of patient care. The Lap-Band is a silicone ring that is surgically implanted around the stomach to discourage overeating. Galperin's numbers fall short of telling homeless story.

But a federal jury in December found that the business was a criminal scheme that bilked millions from several insurance providers, including the Tricare healthcare program for military service members.

“Mr. Omidi made millions at the expense of the multiple victim companies he defrauded, and he violated his oath to ‘do no harm’ by callously misleading patients about the need for a sleep study and subsequent weight loss surgery,” said Donald Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.

In a previous statement to The Times, an attorney for Omidi said the charges against him were “based on false claims” and “fraught with government misconduct.”

Omidi controlled several entities in the GET-THIN network.

Prosecutors say Omidi incentivized employees to ensure patients underwent sleep studies and then falsified the results to show that patients had obstructive sleep apnea to help them qualify for insurance coverage for the weight loss surgery.

Those results were then filed with insurance companies to pre-approve the Lap-Band weight-loss surgeries.

The GET-THIN business received approximately $41 million for those procedures, according to prosecutors. While not all patients were approved to receive the surgery, prosecutors say GET-THIN would bill the patient roughly $15, for each sleep study, totaling $27 million in payments from insurance providers.

Omidi and his Beverly Hills-based company, Surgery Center Management, were found guilty of 28 counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Omidi was also found guilty of two counts of making false statements relating to healthcare matters, one count of aggravated identity theft and two counts of money laundering after a day trial in downtown Los Angeles.

“As found by the jury, the defendant Julian Omidi deliberately and repeatedly acted with an eye towards business and profits, rather than in the interest of GET-THIN’s medical patients, by inducing patients to undergo medical treatment premised on fraud rather than medical necessity, including surgeries that carry significant risks and life-long health impacts,” said U.S.

Atty.

Dr julian omidi biography of michael The trial could take as long as two or three months. California This reservoir was built to save Pacific Palisades. The medical board placed Michael Omidi on three years' probation for performing surgeries on three patients at an unaccredited surgical facility - and for allowing a nurse - instead of a trained specialist - to administer anesthesia to a liposuction patient. Richard Winton is an investigative crime writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in

Martin Estrada.

A series of Los Angeles Times columns from to detailed how five patients died after they received Lap-Band surgeries at clinics affiliated with GET-THIN.

During a inspection, the Department of Health and Human Services found unsanitary conditions, inoperative scrub sinks, one-time-only equipment being reused and several other deficiencies.

The inspector shut down the clinic for a day, but further action was not taken at the time.

Omidi’s medical license was revoked in , and he was arrested in along with Dr. Mirali Zarrabi, 59, who has since been acquitted of all charges in the case, according to prosecutors.

The insurance victims in the case included Anthem Blue Cross, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Health Net, Operating Engineers Health and Welfare Trust Funds and others, according to court documents.

In , federal agencies seized more than $ million from the GET-THIN network in securities and funds.