LOS ANGELES – The office manager and part-owner of a Reseda medical clinic has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme that generated millions of dollars – money that was not reported on his federal income tax returns.

Michael Huynh, 67, of Northridge, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II. In addition to the prison term, Judge Wright ordered Huynh to pay just over $1.9 million in restitution to the victim insurance companies and back taxes – estimated to be nearly $950,000 – to the Internal Revenue Service.

Following a seven-day trial in September 2016, Huynh was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and 11 counts of filing false tax returns.

The evidence introduced at trial showed that between January 2004 and November 2009 Huynh and a pharmacist participated in a healthcare fraud scheme that billed private insurance plans for prescription medication that was never dispensed to insured patients.

Huyhn provided co-conspirator Farhad N. Dany Sharim with bogus prescriptions purportedly for patients of the medial clinic who were insured by healthcare benefit programs. Sharim, a co-owner of Century Discount Pharmacy in Reseda, then submitted false and fraudulent bills for prescription drugs that had not been dispensed to the patients. As a result, Sharim's pharmacy received substantial payments from various health care benefit programs to which it was not entitled, and Sharim paid Huyhn more than $1.1 million.

In addition to the healthcare fraud scheme, Huynh filed false federal tax returns for tax years 2007 through 2011 that underreported the medical clinic's gross receipts and sales by more than $1.6 million.

Sharim, 57, of Sherman Oaks, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and will be sentenced by Judge Wright on May 1.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Office of Personnel Management's Office of Inspector General investigated the case.

The case was brought by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is supervised by the United States Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice's Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorney Steven Arkow of the Major Frauds Section and Trial Attorney Alexis Gregorian of the Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

USAO – California, Central Updated March 29, 2017

Central District of California DOJ / 17-066 / March 28, 2017