Billed Medicare From the Beach: Glendale Doctor Gets 15 Years in $45 Million Botox Fraud

Published Nov. 2, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

Medicare pays for Botox injections in one narrow situation: treating documented chronic migraines. According to the Justice Department, a Glendale, Calif., doctor billed the program for thousands of injections that were never given, were purely cosmetic, or were billed for days her clinic was closed. Some were billed while she was on vacation in Cabo.

Violetta Mailyan, 45, of Glendale, Calif., was sentenced on Oct. 29, 2026, to 15 years in prison for using her medical practice to fraudulently bill Medicare more than $45 million, the Justice Department announced on Oct. 30 [1]. A jury convicted her in May 2026, after a six-day trial, of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense.

How the scheme worked

According to court documents and evidence at trial, as summarized by the Justice Department [1], Mailyan owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center, a clinic that "purported to provide beauty and cosmetic services." Prosecutors say she billed Medicare for:

• Injections that never happened. She billed and was paid "for thousands of injections that were never provided."
• Cosmetic Botox. Some injections were "provided only for cosmetic purposes," which Medicare does not cover.
• Patients without a referral. Some were given to patients "whose primary care physicians had not referred them for treatment of chronic migraines."
• Days the clinic was closed. Evidence showed billing for thousands of injections, worth over $19 million, "purportedly provided on days when her clinic was closed."
• Days she was away. She billed for injections while on vacation in Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and New York. Prosecutors say she billed more than $200,000 for services in California while she was in Cabo. According to the release, a photo from her phone was sent from Cabo on the same day she billed Medicare $34,560 for services supposedly provided in Glendale.

Covering the tracks

According to the Justice Department, when Mailyan realized federal investigators were closing in, she "tried to hide her tracks by falsifying medical records and forging Medicare beneficiary signatures." That included records for "a man who was in federal prison during the time Mailyan claimed to have provided treatment." She then gave these records to federal investigators, the release says, "intending to throw them off her trail" [1].

Where the money went

Prosecutors say Mailyan used the money to buy luxury goods, including a 17th-century crossbow and a $3,000 painting. The jury also found she used fraud proceeds to buy two Tesla vehicles, including a Cybertruck, and five pieces of California real estate.

At sentencing, the court said the fraud "was truly breathtaking in scope and shocking in its duration," and that her actions were "almost unbelievable in their brazenness" [1].

In addition to the prison term, the court ordered:

• Forfeiture of more than $16,029,742 worth of seized property, including real estate, personal property, securities and bank funds.
• Restitution of $32,904,049.41 to Medicare.

HHS-OIG and the FBI investigated. Trial Attorneys Sandor Callahan and Jeffrey A. Crapko of the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Vavere of the Central District of California is handling asset forfeiture.

Why patients should care

Fraudulent billing can show up in real patients' records. According to the release, some of the billed injections were given only for cosmetic purposes, and others were never given at all. Claims billed under a patient's name may carry diagnoses, such as chronic migraines, that the patient never received.

Medicare suggests comparing "the dates and services on your calendar with the Medicare statements you get to make sure you got each service listed and that all the details are correct" [2].

Red flags

These are general warning signs of health care billing fraud, not findings about any defendant:

• A cosmetic clinic asking for your Medicare card for a beauty treatment.
• Being told a cosmetic service is "free" or "covered" if you sign forms or accept a diagnosis you don't have.
• Charges on your Medicare Summary Notice for dates you weren't there, or treatments you never had.
• Being asked to sign blank forms or sign for visits after the fact.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Review your Medicare statements and online claims for every provider you see.
2. Ask questions if a provider bills Medicare for something you consider cosmetic.
3. Report suspected fraud to 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and to the HHS Office of Inspector General at oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud [2][3].
4. Age 60 or older? The DOJ Elder Justice Hotline is 1-833-372-8311 (1-833-FRAUD-11).

Case status (as of Nov. 2, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Nov. 2, 2026	Source
Violetta Mailyan, 45, Glendale, Calif. (Healthy Way Medical Center)	Federal (prosecuted by DOJ Health Care Fraud Section; forfeiture handled by C.D. Cal.)	Convicted by jury May 2026 (9 counts wire fraud, 3 counts obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense); sentenced Oct. 29, 2026, to 15 years; forfeiture of more than $16,029,742; restitution $32,904,049.41	[1]

Statuses can change, for example on appeal.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Botox Fraud Doctor Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for $45M Medicare Scheme," Oct. 30, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/botox-fraud-doctor-sentenced-15-years-prison-45m-medicare-scheme
2. Medicare.gov, "Reporting Medicare fraud & abuse," accessed Nov. 2, 2026. https://www.medicare.gov/basics/reporting-medicare-fraud-and-abuse
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, "Report Fraud," accessed Nov. 2, 2026. https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/

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