A pharmacy owner and an associate have been sentenced for submitting false claims to Medicare and California Medicaid (Medi-Cal) and participating in a black market prescription drug diversion scheme.
Irina Sadovsky, 54, of Calabasas, California, who owned Five Star RX, doing business as Five Star Pharmacy and Ultimate Pharmacy Inc., was sentenced on July 8 to two years and three months in prison. Shahriar “Michael” Kalantari, 56, of Los Angeles, received a sentence of one year and eleven months in prison.
Court documents and trial evidence revealed that from September 2016 to April 2017, Sadovsky conspired to submit fraudulent claims for prescription drugs that were never dispensed. Instead, these drugs were provided to co-conspirators for sale on the black market. Sadovsky’s associates created fraudulent prescriptions while she recommended drug combinations and checked patient eligibility for reimbursement.
Kalantari, who is not a medical professional, collaborated with Sadovsky by generating false prescriptions. His co-conspirators obtained beneficiary information which he used to write or cause the writing of false prescriptions for expensive medications such as those used to treat HIV. These medications were also diverted to the black market.
In October 2022, a jury convicted Sadovsky of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to engage in unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. In November 2022, Kalantari was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, three counts of health care fraud, and conspiracy to engage in unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri; FBI Los Angeles Field Office Assistant Director Akil Davis; and HHS-OIG Los Angeles Regional Office Special Agent Timothy DeFrancesca announced the sentences.
The FBI and HHS-OIG conducted the investigations with assistance from the California Department of Justice. Counsel Alexis Gregorian and Trial Attorney Matthew Belz managed the sentencing hearings. The cases were tried by Alexis Gregorian; Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Michael for the Central District of California; Justin Givens; all formerly associated with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
The Fraud Section leads efforts against health care fraud through its Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program has charged over 5,400 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. More information is available at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.