On Friday, the CEO of numerous California medical imaging companies was sentenced to federal prison for defrauding insurers of tens of millions of dollars by bribing doctors to order unnecessary tests.
Sam Sarkis Solakyan, 40, from Glendale, was given a five-year sentence. According to a statement from the US attorney’s office, a federal judge in San Diego ordered him to reimburse over $30 million to insurance.
According to the statement, Solakyan was the CEO of multiple firms, including Vital Imaging Inc. of Glendale and San Diego MRI Institute, and ran sites all across California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Orange counties, and San Diego.
Solakyan allegedly paid doctors $9 million in bribes and kickbacks to send patients for unnecessary diagnostic tests, primarily MRIs, before filing $250 million in false claims with the California Workers’ Compensation System, according to prosecutors.
Saolakyan was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and health care fraud, as well as 11 counts of honest services mail fraud, in July of last year.
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