Mahyar David Yadidi, who worked as a chiropractor at the San Pedro Philips Chiropractic Clinic in Los Angeles, was sentenced, Aug. 25, to just under four years in federal prison for defrauding the maritime union welfare plan of nearly $5 million in bogus billings.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California sentenced Mahyar David Yadidi – owner of Philips San Pedro Chiropractic – to 46 months in prison and ordered to make $1,976,832 in restitution for defrauding, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
In September 2019, Yadidi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
It is established, that Yadidi and his accomplices, chiropractor Ivan Semerdzhiev and personal trainer Julian Williams, participated in a scheme to defraud the welfare plan from July 2016 through October 2018.
Yadidi defrauded the International Longshore and Warehouse Union-Pacific Maritime Association (ILWU-PMA) by offering kickbacks to patients for attending his clinic, San Pedro Philips Chiropractic, and billing the benefit plan for therapy services that were either not rendered or not medically necessary.
Yadidi offered these patients $ 50 in cash every time they let him bill the welfare plan.
In total, Yadidi, Semerdjiev and Williams submitted almost $5 million in claims to the plan, with the plan paying approximately $2 million.
Moreover, Yadidi was ultimately terminated as an authorized provider by ILWU-PMA in August 2017, but he continued his criminal activities, changing the name of his clinics from Synergy Healthcare and Wellness Center to Philips Chiropractic to avoid the consequences of being terminated, continuing to operate at the same address.
In December 2019, the court sentenced Williams to 3 months in prison and 3 months in home detention, and ordered him to pay $577,940. In July 2020, the court sentenced Semerdjiev to 6 months in prison and 6 months in home detention, and ordered him to pay $924,707.
