Personal Trainer Inessa Katsnelson and Billers Sentenced Over $6.5 Million in Insurance Claims for Therapy Never Given

Case from 2018–2024 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: March 2, 2023; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Inessa Katsnelson, a personal trainer and singer from Glenview, Illinois, worked out of a gym in Northbrook. Prosecutors say she and medical claims biller Maya Yakubovich recruited friends and family whose private health and auto insurers were then billed for physical therapy, chiropractic and other services that were never provided [1] [2]. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois says nine insurers lost about $6.5 million. Court records show that Katsnelson, Yakubovich, two co-defendants, and physical therapist Beatta Kabbani, who was charged in a related case, all pleaded guilty and were sentenced in 2023 and 2024 [3].

How the scheme worked

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office [1] [2]:

1. Recruiting "patients." From 2006 to October 2018, Katsnelson gave names and insurance information for supposed patients to several clinics. She knew the clinics would bill insurers for services that never happened.
2. The perks. In exchange, the people she referred got free personal training sessions and massages. Their annual deductibles were also used up at no cost to them through the false billing.
3. The billing. Yakubovich worked as a claims biller for health care facilities in Buffalo Grove, Northfield, Prospect Heights, Wheeling, Des Plaines and Glenview. She prepared and submitted the false claims, at times created fake medical records to back them up, and also supplied patient names herself.
4. The related case. Kabbani was a licensed physical therapist and an officer of a medical group in Northfield and Glenview. From September 2011 to November 2016, she submitted false claims listing herself, a medical doctor and another therapist as providers on dates when none of them were at the facility, and she created false records to support them.

The defendants and their co-schemers each got a share of the money, the release says.

The defendants

All the outcomes below come from judgments in the court dockets [3].

• Inessa Katsnelson (also known as "Inessa Blinov," "Inessa Danuchevsky" and "Inna"), 55, Glenview. Pleaded guilty to health care fraud; the release announcing her plea is dated March 2, 2023 [1]. The amended judgment of Dec. 12, 2023, sentenced her to 12 months and one day in prison. The remaining counts, including an aggravated identity theft charge in the original indictment, were dismissed on the government's motion [2] [3]. She was ordered to surrender by April 8, 2024.
• Maya Yakubovich, 56, Arlington Heights, medical claims biller. Pleaded guilty to health care fraud [1]. Judgment was entered Jan. 26, 2024, and an amended judgment on Feb. 2, 2024, set conditions of probation [3].
• Beatta Kabbani, 55, Glenview, physical therapist (separate, related case). Pleaded guilty to health care fraud [1]. The amended judgment of March 13, 2024, sentenced her to 3 years of probation, including 12 months of home confinement [3].
• Tetyana "Tanya" Voronkina, 60, Mundelein, medical claims biller. Pleaded guilty to a superseding information. The July 28, 2023, judgment sentenced her to 21 days in prison [3].
• Viktor Danchuk, 62, Roselle, massage therapist. Pleaded guilty to an information. The August 2023 amended judgment sentenced him to 24 months of probation with 30 days of home detention [3].
• Yaroslava "Yana" Boyko, physical therapy center operator, Morton Grove, was charged in the 2018 indictment [2]. The 2023 release did not list her among the defendants with pending charges, and we found no public record of how her case ended. We make no finding about her; she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Labor OIG and the FBI [1].

Red flags

• Offers of free massages, training sessions or gifts in exchange for your insurance information.
• Someone offering to "use up" your deductible for you.
• Insurance statements listing therapy, chiropractic or massage visits you never had.

What to do

1. Never lend out your insurance card or member ID. Letting others bill your insurer for services you didn't get can expose you to liability as well.
2. Review every Explanation of Benefits and report unfamiliar charges to your insurer's fraud unit.
3. Report health care fraud to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or, for employer health plans, to the Department of Labor.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Inessa Katsnelson, 55, Glenview	N.D. Ill.	Pleaded guilty; sentenced to 12 months and 1 day (amended judgment Dec. 12, 2023)	[1], [3]
Maya Yakubovich, 56, Arlington Heights	N.D. Ill.	Pleaded guilty; judgment Jan. 26, 2024; probation (amended judgment Feb. 2, 2024)	[1], [3]
Beatta Kabbani, 55, Glenview	N.D. Ill. (separate case)	Pleaded guilty; 3 years of probation with 12 months of home confinement (amended judgment March 13, 2024)	[1], [3]
Tetyana Voronkina, 60, Mundelein	N.D. Ill.	Pleaded guilty; sentenced to 21 days (judgment July 28, 2023)	[3]
Viktor Danchuk, 62, Roselle	N.D. Ill.	Pleaded guilty; 24 months of probation with 30 days of home detention (amended judgment Aug. 2023)	[3]
Yaroslava Boyko, Morton Grove	N.D. Ill.	Charged in 2018; outcome not found in public sources	[2]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Three Plead Guilty to Healthcare Fraud in Schemes That Totaled $6.5 Million Dollars in Fraudulent Claims," March 2, 2023. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/three-plead-guilty-healthcare-fraud-schemes-totaled-65-million-dollars-fraudulent
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Four Health Care Professionals and a Personal Trainer Indicted for Allegedly Pocketing $6.5 Million for Nonexistent Services," Nov. 2, 2018. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/four-health-care-professionals-and-personal-trainer-indicted-allegedly-pocketing-65
3. CourtListener (RECAP), N.D. Ill. docket entries for United States v. Katsnelson et al. and United States v. Kabbani, including judgments dated July 2023 to March 2024. https://www.courtlistener.com/?q=%22Katsnelson%22&type=r&court=ilnd

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