Yuriy Barayev, the owner of Woodhaven Rx, was found guilty of health care fraud and money laundering on Feb. 26, 2020. (Photo Courtesy of U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue)
Feb. 28, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
A Rego Park pharmacy owner has been convicted for his role in a health care fraud and money laundering scheme.
Yuriy Barayev, 45, was found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn Wednesday of defrauding Medicare by submitting claims for hundreds of medications that were never dispensed through his pharmacy, Woodhaven Rx, located at 62-04B Woodhaven Blvd.
Barayev laundered proceeds of the scheme through a shell company owned by his wife and spent the money on himself, his family and friends, according to U.S. Eastern District Attorney Richard P. Donoghue.
Barayev now faces up to 150 years in prison for his crimes that were committed from November 2013 to December 2015.
He was found guilty on one count of health care fraud which carries up to 10 years in prison and guilty on seven counts of money laundering – each money laundering count carries up to 20 years in prison.
The prosecution was part of a nationwide health care fraud takedown led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force that has charged over 3,800 defendants with billing Medicare for around $15 billion, according to Donoghue.
Nearly 2,500 defendants have been given prison sentences for an average term of 50 months since its inception in 2007, he stated.
