A California doctor who bilked Medicare out of more than $45 million by submitting claims for thousands of Botox injections she never administered has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Dr. Violetta Mailyan, 45, learned her fate Thursday from a federal judge. She was convicted of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense after a six-day jury trial in May 2026.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Mailyan “fraudulently” billed Medicare more than $45 million “for Botox injection services that were medically unnecessary and never provided.” Prosecutors say she spent the proceeds on a Tesla Cybertruck, multimillion-dollar real estate, a $12,000 antique crossbow and a $3,000 painting.
Jurors found that she used the fraud money to buy at least two Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, and five pieces of California real estate. She also bought luxury goods, including a 17th century crossbow and an 1807 oil-on-canvas painting by Joseph Anton Muxel titled “Portrait of Ludwig, Crown Prince of Bavaria.”
The scheme was brazen. The Glendale physician 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 the 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.”
Prosecutors said the claims flowed through Healthy Way Medical Center, the Glendale clinic Mailyan owned and operated. Although the business advertised beauty and cosmetic services, the procedures on its Medicare bills often existed only on paper, according to the DOJ.
Her indictment said, “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.”
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 given. 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 look legitimate. One signature belonged to a man who was in federal prison during the period she claimed he had received treatment.
Jurors found that much of her wealth came from the fraud, which allowed the government to seize assets including the Cybertruck, four properties in Surfside and Glendale worth more than $7 million combined, and substantial bank and brokerage holdings.
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.