Valley Pharmacy Owners Found Guilty of Health Care Fraud

Two Valley residents who ran a pharmacy were convicted Tuesday for running a $35 million fraud that billed Medicare for medicines that were never delivered. Aleksandr Suris, 51, and Maxim Sverdlov, 44, owners of Royal Care Pharmacy in Sherman Oaks, were found guilty of health care fraud and money laundering, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department. From 2012 to 2015, Suris and Sverdlov billed Medicare and CIGNA for medications that were not actually dispensed, the Justice Department said. Fake invoices were created by an unnamed co-conspirator to make it appear that Royal Care purchased medicines it billed Medicare for; the invoices also were used to launder proceeds through the co-conspirator. The 11-day trial jury ended Tuesday in Los Angeles. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 18 before U.S. District Judge James Otero. Individuals and organizations involved in the investigation include: the Health and Human Services Department, the FBI, the IRS, California Department of Justics, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Assistant Chief Daniel Griffin and Trial Attorney Robyn Pullio of the Fraud Section.