A doctor and office manager at a Brighton Beach medical clinic have been charged with grand larceny and healthcare fraud for allegedly defrauding Medicaid out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In total, the defendants are alleged to have stolen more than $700,000 over a four-year period. The two are accused of fraudulently billing Medicaid for non-existent services and selling prescriptions for narcotics, opioids, and other controlled substances to patients they were not treating.
“As the opioid epidemic continues to claim the lives of thousands of New Yorkers each year, it is unconscionable that these medical professionals allegedly endangered their patients’ health, trafficked in controlled substances, and stole hundreds of thousands from Medicaid," said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
"Anyone who contributes to the growth of prescription drug abuse, imperils the health and safety of Brooklyn residents, or rips off the taxpayers will be held accountable.”
The District Attorney identified the defendants as Dr. Alexander Ivanov, 66, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and Svetlana Kozlovskaya, 64, of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
They were arraigned March 28, before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which they are charged with second- and third-degree grand larceny and healthcare fraud.
The defendants were released without bail, they are ordered to return to court on May 31, 2023.
According to the investigation, from approximately 2017 to 2020, the defendants ran a psychiatry practice and pain management clinic at 115 Brightwater Court in Brighton Beach where they allegedly billed Medicaid and other healthcare administrators for more than $200,000 worth of psychotherapy sessions that were never administered.
It is alleged that Dr. Ivanov wrote over $500,000 worth of prescriptions for controlled substances to patients in exchange for cash, the prescriptions were subsequently filled and paid for by Medicaid and other healthcare administrators.
The controlled substances included suboxone, alprazolam, amphetamine, clonazepam, diazepam, methadone, morphine, oxycodone, and tramadol.
According to the investigation, many of the doctor’s patients were substance abusers who were not receiving any kind of treatment at the clinic, including any bloodwork or urinalysis performed to monitor the patients’ drug intake levels.
Department of Social Services Acting Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said, “The alleged conduct of these individuals is absolutely unacceptable and a clear violation of their duties as trusted medical professionals."
