EXCLUSIVE — A member of a Moscow-based fraud network was sentenced in New York federal court this week for operating a massive telemedicine scam that targeted patients all over the United States and laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen healthcare funds overseas, the Washington Examiner has learned.
According to the charging documents, between 2017 and 2022, operatives tied to the international criminal organization billed nearly $2 billion in fraudulent prescriptions using more than 75 remotely controlled U.S. pharmacies nationwide, including brick-and-mortar clinics scattered across Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan, Long Island, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, and Alabama.
The Justice Department said they did so through sham call centers that deployed scores of employees and ghost telemedicine visits, all while many of the beneficiaries never received the prescribed medications.
Investigators discovered that teams of “billers” based out of Moscow were trained to enter data and electronically submit reimbursement requests. To conceal their involvement, the defendants allegedly operated under multiple aliases, funneled proceeds through pass-through shell companies and straw owners, and used end-to-end encrypted communications.
Anthony Santamaria, also known as “Big Boy,” “Wade Watts,” “Pablo Rodriguez,” “Ryan Rusty” and “Bruce Peter,” was sentenced on Tuesday to 120 months, or 10 years, in federal prison for his role in the telehealth scheme, making him the third member of the Russian fraud ring to receive a lengthy sentence this month and the fourth overall in connection with the criminal conspiracy.
HEALTHCARE COMPANY CEO CONVICTED OF $1 BILLION MEDICARE FRAUD CONSPIRACY
Santamaria’s codefendants, Hershel Tsikman and Hafizullah Ebady, were sentenced earlier in May to 10 years and eight years, respectively, behind bars.
In addition to Tuesday’s prison sentence, Judge William F. Kuntz II ordered Santamaria to forfeit approximately $3.2 million and Ebady to hand over more than $1.8 million. All three defendants were ordered to pay restitution to their victims in an amount to be determined at a later date.
A fourth defendant, Dela Saidazim, was sentenced to time served in December 2022. Three additional convicted coconspirators, David Bishoff, Brycen Millett, and Joshua Alegria, are awaiting sentencing. An eighth defendant and the suspected leader of the criminal organization, Brian Sutton, a U.S. citizen who is believed to be residing abroad, remains at large.
“The takedown of this international criminal organization sends a clear message that those who exploit our American healthcare system for profit — no matter where they operate — will be identified, investigated, and prosecuted,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle said in a press statement.