Mother & Son At Center Of Bath Beach Medicare Fraud Scheme To Be Featured on ‘American Greed’ Thursday
There have been many dramatic Medicare fraud busts in our area over the last few years, but few seem more ripe for television than the saga of Bay Medical.
This week’s episode of CNBC’s “American Greed” — airing next Thursday, May 26 at 10pm — goes behind the scenes of a story that Bensonhurst Bean has covered extensively about “a mother-and-son duo from Ukraine bilk Medicare for millions, enough to earn Jr. a Bentley – until he’s caught and turns on dear old mom.”
Ensnared in one of the largest Medicaid/Medicare fraud investigations in American history, Irina Shelikhova and her son Maksim were busted in 2011 for using fake doctors and forged documents to funnel $71 million in ill-gotten Medicare profits through their Bensonhurst and Bath Beach medical clinics, including Bay Medical Care (8686 Bay Parkway), SVS Wellcare Medical PLLC (7616 Bay Parkway) and SZS Medical Care PLLC (8686 Bay Parkway).
Twelve others were arrested in the scheme that allegedly payed kickbacks to “patients” to pretend that they were undergoing treatments and procedures that never actually happened.
In an amusing twist, a Soviet WWII propaganda poster was found in the “kick-backs” room, inscribed with an anti-snitching poem by Samuil Marshak. “Keep your eyes open. These days, even the walls have ears. Chatter and gossip go hand in hand with treason,” the poem reads.
“American Greed” is a weekly true-crime television series that focuses on the biggest corporate and white collar criminals in American history. The second half of this week’s episode investigates Christopher Blauvelt and David Pritchard of Gigapix, a company that claimed it would be the next Pixar and promised investors shares will increase 20-fold when the company goes public. But despite the promise that 65 percent of the money raised would go towards production, a mere trifle of the $22.6 million actually did.
The 117th episode of the award-winning documentary series “American Greed” airs on Thursday, May 26, at 10pm, EST.