Oleg Beretsky, 67, of Naples, Florida, has been charged with conspiring to commit healthcare fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced Tuesday.
According to court documents, from January 2017 to April 2024, Beretsky violated the Anti-Kickback Statute through his company, Obest, Inc., based in Plainview, New York. Obest, which claimed to offer billing, consulting, and support services to healthcare professionals, was allegedly involved in facilitating illegal patient referrals to doctors and healthcare providers in exchange for kickbacks.
Many of the patients referred by Beretsky were elderly immigrants from the former Soviet Union, whom he identified through an employee of a nonprofit organization in Brooklyn and Queens that assisted senior citizens. Beretsky allegedly gained influence over these patients’ healthcare decisions, ensuring they only saw providers willing to pay him.
Prosecutors claim that Beretsky once threatened a patient who wanted to continue receiving care from a provider that had stopped paying him. His fees were reportedly based on the number of referrals or Medicare reimbursements received by the providers.
To further inflate his profits, Beretsky allegedly encouraged or directed healthcare providers to bill Medicare for unnecessary services or services never actually rendered. As a result, his scheme led to over $22 million in fraudulent Medicare claims, with Medicare paying out more than $12.4 million.
To hide the illicit proceeds, Beretsky allegedly directed co-conspirators to make cash payments to his family members and transferred money across various accounts under family members’ names.
This scheme highlights the risks associated with healthcare fraud, particularly in systems like Medicare, which is vulnerable to exploitation through illegal kickback arrangements and falsified claims. Beretsky now faces significant legal consequences, including potential prison time and fines, if convicted.
