A California physician was sentenced in Los Angeles to 54 months in prison for healthcare fraud arising from her false home health certifications and related fraudulent billings to Medicare. She is a fugitive and was sentenced in absentia. According to court documents, Lilit Gagikovna Baltaian, 61, of Porter Ranch, was a physician licensed to practice in California and an enrolled Medicare provider.
From approximately January 2012 to July 2018, she falsely certified patients to receive home healthcare from at least four Los Angeles area home health agencies. These certifications were used by the home health agencies to fraudulently bill Medicare. In some instances, Baltaian pre-signed blank, undated physician certification forms knowing that the home health agencies would falsify the forms to make appear that she had seen the Medicare beneficiaries and made clinical findings to support the need for home healthcare, when she had done neither. Baltaian received cash payments related to these referrals and also separately billed Medicare for signing the fraudulent certifications. Between January 2012 and July 2018, four home health agencies used Baltaian’s false certifications to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare, resulting in loss to the government estimated at $1,497,159.64.