Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, today charged Alexander Gulkarov with bribery conspiracy, health care fraud conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft in connection with orchestrating a $40 million fraud targeting noncitizens. announced that he had pleaded guilty. -The car insurance company is at fault. Gulkalov also admitted to obstructing law enforcement investigations by falsifying documents and intimidating witnesses.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Alexander Gulkalov was one of the leaders of a multifaceted scheme to defraud auto insurance companies; bribe hospital officials, 911 dispatchers, and others; launder hundreds of thousands of dollars; and obstruct law enforcement. The complex scheme resulted in more than $40 million in losses, which Gulkalov used to finance a lavish lifestyle that included taking lavish vacations and renovating his multimillion-dollar home. Officials has zero tolerance for those who cheat the system to gain unfair wealth and will continue to dismantle widespread schemes like this.”
According to Glukalov’s guilty plea information, plea agreement, and court statements:
medical fraud scheme
New York and New Jersey’s no-fault insurance laws automatically reimburse the driver’s auto insurance company for certain types of auto accidents, as long as the claim is justified and falls under certain monetary thresholds. We require you to pay. Pursuant to these requirements, insurance companies often pay medical care providers directly for treatment provided to motor vehicle accident victims, without having to bill the victims themselves. This process resolves auto insurance claims without apportioning responsibility or fault for the accident, thus avoiding protracted disputes and the costs associated with lengthy investigations into accidents.
From 2014 to 2021, Glukaroff and others (collectively, “Clinic Administrators”) illegally owned, operated, and profited from clinics in the New York area, and that Gulkaroff also profited from pharmacies in the New York area. I agreed to get it. It was illegally owned and controlled by another clinic administrator. Gulkalov knew that clinics and pharmacies could not claim no-fault benefits from insurance companies if the medical facility was managed by someone other than a doctor. Nevertheless, Gulkalov was accused during a sworn investigation of the clinic’s ownership, management, and finances, as well as for submitting false claims to insurance companies stating that the clinic was owned and operated by a licensed physician. Agreed with others that health care workers lied under oath. Gulkalov personally coached medical workers to lie under oath. Gulkalov and his fellow clinic managers illegally obtained at least $40 million from insurance companies as part of the scheme.
In connection with the above-mentioned plan, Gulkalov personally approached medical personnel, including doctors, and requested that unnecessary medical procedures (including MRI, electromyography/NCV tests, spinal injections, and computerized radiometric analysis) be carried out. ), directed the prescription of (including) unnecessary durable medical equipment. medically unnecessary medications (such as prescription-strength pain relievers, topical creams, and topical gels). Mr. Gulkalov received kickbacks from MRI facilities, pain management doctors, and other professional medical providers who performed these unnecessary treatments. Additionally, Gulkalov personally arranged for unnecessary medications to be refilled at pharmacies under the control of other clinic managers. Medical workers also provided necessary treatment and treatment to patients.
Mr. Gulkalov also overbilled insurance companies for treatment by doctors. In connection with this scheme, Gulkalov owned and operated a billing company called “Billing for You.” Billing for You submitted bills to insurance companies that overstated the amount of time doctors spent treating patients. Billing for You also billed insurance companies in excess of what was allowed under no-fault regulations by using unlisted and inappropriate billing codes.
bribery scheme
Gulkalov and his fellow clinic administrators further agreed to pay bribes in connection with the above-described scheme. From at least 2014 until November 2019, Mr. Gulkalov agreed with others to pay bribes to hospital staff, 911 dispatchers, and other individuals to obtain confidential names and counts of car accident victims. did. As part of the scheme, Gulkalov and others provided approximately $150,000 to set up a call center run by Anthony Rose, aka “Todd Chambers,” to call victims and lie to them in order to treat them in the hospital. I was guided to receive it. , among other things, the clinic managed by Glukarov and his associates. Additionally, Gulkalov personally paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash bribes to Anthony Rose.
As part of the scheme, Mr. Gulkalov arranged for the New York City Police Department to receive confidential information from a New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) server. Specifically, the officer used the encrypted messaging application WhatsApp to send Mr. Gurkarov more than 400 photos of him in a confidential NYPD car crash report. Gulkalov then re-sent the reports to Rose and others, called patients and lied to them so they could direct them to clinics controlled by Gurkalov and others.
Money laundering and sabotage
Gulkalov laundered the proceeds of bribes and medical fraud from the bank accounts of his clinics and pharmacies into his personal accounts in a variety of ways. Among other things, Mr. Gulkarov personally instructed medical personnel to sign blank checks from the clinic’s bank accounts, and Mr. Gulkarov paid for lavish vacations, expensive meals, jewelry, parties, etc. around the world. It was used to pay for personal expenses. Gulkalov also used blank checks to pay for hundreds of thousands of dollars in construction-related costs for this multi-million dollar, three-story home in Queens, New York.
Gulkalov arranged for checks from the clinic’s bank account to be cashed into more than a dozen shell companies either under his control or under the control of his co-conspirators. Among them are, for example, “Sign and Drive Auto GRP,” “Wheeled Transportation,” and “Sankus Consulting & Trading Co., Ltd.” More than 20 of these dummy companies were established by foreigners. The foreigners entered the country on tourist visas, opened bank accounts for shell companies and provided debit cards to Gurkalov’s co-conspirators before leaving the country.
Gulkalov further agreed to use Wisnicki & Associates and Wisnicki Neuhauser (collectively, the “Wisnicki Firm”) to launder the proceeds from the no-fault scheme. Gulkalov and his fellow clinic managers wrote checks for more than $150,000 to the Wisnicki Company from the no-fault clinic’s bank account. The Wisnicki Firm did not provide any legal services to the No-Fault Clinic. Instead, Wisnicki & Co. used the funds to purchase real estate for one of Gurkalov’s co-conspirators. Gulkalov and his co-conspirators deducted payments to Wisnicki & Co. from the clinic’s tax returns as legal fees.
Finally, Mr. Gulkalov was involved in a multi-month sabotage plot starting in February 2021. In February and March 2021, the government served grand jury subpoenas on health care workers involved in the no-fault program. Gulkalov immediately contacted at least six of his co-conspirators and ordered them not to talk to law enforcement. In return, Gulkalov gave his co-conspirators money for legal fees. Gulkalov also obtained the cell phones of multiple practitioners and removed communications with them from their devices.
Then, on or about April 1, 2021, the government served a grand jury subpoena on Wisnicki’s Office seeking documents related to a $150,000 payment from the Clinic to Wisnicki’s Office. Gulkalov agreed with others to fabricate a collateral agreement for Wisnicki & Co. to send to the grand jury. The fabricated retainer agreements, dated back to 2016 and 2017, falsely represented that the no-fault clinic had hired the Wisnicki firm for legal services.
Over the next few months, from April to May 2021, Gulkalov approached multiple doctors and ordered them to sign backdated and fabricated retainer contracts. Doctors agreed. Mr. Gulkalov also provided these doctors with checks written from the Wisnicki Company to reimburse them for “maintenance fees” allegedly paid to the Wisnicki Company. Mr. Glukalov ordered his doctors to deposit the checks, withdraw cash in small amounts, and return the cash to Mr. Glukalov. At least he was followed by one doctor.
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Alexander Gulkalov, 37, of Queens, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery conspiracy and was sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison. One count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Maximum sentence is 5 years in prison. One count of aggravated identity theft carries a sentence of two years in prison, consecutive to the other sentences. As part of his plea agreement with the government, Gulkalov agreed to forfeit $40 million and pay $40 million in restitution.
It is provided here for informational purposes only, as maximum possible sentences are established by Congress and a defendant’s sentence is determined by a judge.
Williams praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case is being handled by the bureau’s Complex Fraud and Cyber Crimes Unit and White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Andrews, Timothy Capozzi, and Ryan W. Allison are in charge of the prosecution.