Left inset: Dr. Violetta Mailyan (KTTV). Right inset: Photograph from Mailyan's phone, sent from Cabo, Mexico, the same day she billed Medicare $34,560 for services purportedly rendered in Glendale, Calif. (U.S. Department of Justice). Background: A Tesla Cybertruck that was seized from Dr. Violetta Mailyan (DOJ).
A California doctor who bilked Medicare out of more than $45 million by submitting claims for thousands of Botox injections she never administered will spend over a decade behind bars.
Federal prosecutors say Dr. Violetta Mailyan, 45, went on shopping sprees that included purchasing a Tesla Cybertruck, multimillion-dollar real estate, a $12,000 antique crossbow and a $3,000 painting using money she collected from the Botox Medicare scam. In total, Mailyan "fraudulently" billed Medicare more than $45 million "for Botox injection services that were medically unnecessary and never provided," according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Mailyan learned her fate Thursday when a federal judge sentenced her to 15 years in prison after she was convicted of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense following a six-day jury trial in May 2026.
The jury found that Mailyan used the fraud proceeds to purchase at least two Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, and five pieces of California real estate. She also spent her stolen money on luxury goods, including a $12,000 17th century crossbow and an 1807 oil-on-canvas painting by Joseph Anton Muxel titled "Portrait of Ludwig, Crown Prince of Bavaria."
The Glendale physician's operation was so brazen that she kept billing for procedures while traveling, even claiming to treat California patients while she was far away.
"Mailyan billed for thousands of injections, representing over $19 million, purportedly provided on days when her clinic was closed," the U.S. Justice Department says in a press release announcing Mailyan's sentence. "Mailyan also billed for providing Botox injections when she was actually on vacation in Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, and New York at various times throughout her fraud scheme. For example, Mailyan billed over $200,000 for purportedly providing Botox services to patients in California when she was actually relaxing on the beach in Cabo."
The claims flowed through Healthy Way Medical Center, the clinic Mailyan owned and operated in Glendale, according to prosecutors. Although the business advertised beauty and cosmetic services, the medical procedures appearing on its Medicare bills often existed only on paper, per the DOJ.
"Defendant Mailyan caused Healthy Way to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for Botox injections … listing defendant Mailyan as the rendering provider where the Botox injections were medically unnecessary and/or never provided," Mailyan's indictment said. "These claims included claims for instances on which defendant Mailyan had purportedly provided Botox injections at Healthy Way to beneficiaries who were in fact traveling outside the United States on the purported dates of service; on dates when defendant Mailyan was in fact traveling outside the United States; on dates when defendant Mailyan was in fact traveling outside California; to a beneficiary who was in fact in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on the purported dates of service; on dates when Healthy Way was in fact closed; and on dates before the beneficiary first contacted Healthy Way about receiving Botox injections from defendant Mailyan."
An investigation by the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General uncovered thousands of claims for injections that were never administered. Prosecutors said Mailyan sidestepped Medicare's rules governing coverage of Botox and manufactured medical documentation to support the payments.
When investigators began examining the operation, she doctored records and forged Medicare beneficiaries' signatures to make the claims appear legitimate. One signature belonged to a man who was incarcerated in federal prison during the period Mailyan claimed he had received treatment.
Jurors found that much of Mailyan's wealth came from the fraud, clearing the way for the government to seize assets that included the Cybertruck, four properties in Surfside and Glendale worth more than $7 million combined, and substantial holdings in bank and brokerage accounts.
The court ordered Mailyan to surrender more than $16 million in seized property, including real estate, personal possessions and securities. She must also repay Medicare $32 million.
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