Former physician Julian Omidi has been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for defrauding private health insurance companies through his connection to the 1-800-GET-THIN Lap-Band surgery business.
Mr. Omidi, 54, of West Hollywood, Calif., was found guilty on 28 counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud following a three-month trial, according to an April 18 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
Mr. Omidi controlled the GET-THIN network of entities, including Surgery Center Management. According to the release, he often falsified sleep study results to convince patients' insurance companies to approve the Lap-Band procedure. He submitted $120 million in fraudulent claims related to the surgery business, the release said.
The defrauded companies were Tricare, Anthem Blue Cross, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Health Net, Operating Engineers Health and Welfare Trust Fund, among others.
Mr. Omidi lost his medical license in 2009 for dishonesty and unprofessional conduct in relation to the application for his California license.
The U.S. government seized more than $110 million in funds from those involved in the scheme.
Read more about the case here.