Calif. Doctor Convicted in $45 Million Botox Fraud Scheme Used to Fund Her 'Lavish Vacations' and Multiple Properties

Gina KalsiFri, May 22, 2026 at 3:17 PM UTC

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Violetta Mailyan
Credit: U.S Department of Justice -

Violetta Mailyan, of Glendale, has been convicted in $45 million fraud scheme of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense

Evidence in court showed the 45-year-old billed for Botox treatments while on vacations and for patients who never received or needed them

Mailyan used funds she obtained through the scheme to pay for vacations in Mexico and Hawaii and to buy a $12,000 17th century crossbow, the U.S. Department of Justice said

A Californian doctor has convicted in a $45 million fraud scheme after submitting claims for Botox injections that were never provided and were medically unnecessary.

Violetta Mailyan, of Glendale, was found guilty by a jury in the Central District of California on Monday, May 18. She was convicted of nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care offense, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

The 45-year-old owned and operated Healthy Way Medical Center, a clinic that purported to provide beauty and cosmetic services, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, per the release.

“Violetta Mailyan falsely diagnosed patients, fraudulently billed for Botox injections while she was actually on lavish vacations, and tried to trick federal agents with fake records,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division’s data-driven approach will shine a light on fraud schemes across the country, ensuring that no doctor can engage in these types of brazen schemes to rob Medicare.”

Medicare reimburses medical providers for Botox injections when it is necessary to treat documented cases of chronic migraines.

But Mailyan billed and received payments for thousands of injections that were never provided or were provided only for cosmetic purposes or for patients whose primary care physicians had not referred them for treatment of chronic migraines, per the release.

Scott J. Lampert, Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, called her actions a “blatant betrayal of patients and the public trust,” in the release.

The evidence at the trial showed that she was on vacation in Cabo, Maui, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and New York when she billed for some of the treatments.

Mailyan also "billed for purportedly injecting a Medicare beneficiary who was actually incarcerated in federal prison at the time; and billed for thousands of injections, representing over $19 million, purportedly provided on days when her clinic was closed," per the release.

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Evidence showed that the doctor backdated some claims to bill for injections allegedly provided before the patients even contacted Mailyan’s clinic to request an appointment.

Violetta Mailyan's Tesla Cybertruck that was seized by the government
Credit: U.S Department of Justice

Other evidence showed that Mailyan also fabricated patient medical records, including patient consent forms, to make it appear as if patients suffered from chronic migraines and had received treatment for those migraines in her office, per the release.

With the money she earned through the Medicare scheme, Mailyan allegedly bought exotic holidays and paid for luxurious collectible goods, such as a $12,000 17th century crossbow and a $3,000 painting.

Following her conviction, the jury also found that a Tesla Model X, a Tesla Cybertruck, over $251,000 in funds contained in multiple bank accounts, brokerage accounts valued at over $7.3 million at the time of seizure, and four properties in Surfside and Glendale, California, with a combined estimated equity of $7.3 million, were proceeds of the fraud subject to forfeiture.

Suspicions were raised when the Health Care Fraud Section’s Data Analytics Team identified Mailyan as "an extreme outlier among doctors receiving Medicare payments for Botox."

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She was paid more than $24 million over the previous four years, which is six times the next highest group of providers, all of whom were neurologists.

Mailyan is due to be sentenced on September 10, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and five years in prison for each count of obstruction.

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