The estimated losses in the workers’ compensation fraud case of Sam Sarkis Solakyan have increased from $14.1M to $27.9M. According to prosecutors, insurers paid over $30M Solakyan’s various radiology entities, and 93% of the MRIs completed by Vital Imaging were referred to by Medex physicians. It was recently determined that a number of Medex physicians were involved in the kickback scheme, leading the government to seek a value of $27.9M from 93% of the total amounts paid by compensation carriers.
Solakyan, former president and CEO of Vital Imaging, is accused of paying over $8.8 million in kickbacks for the referrals, involving physicians from MedEx, Providence Scheduling, and participants from other related companies.
Solakyan was indicted for fraud in 2018, and convicted on all 12 counts in a number of charges, including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and multiple counts of honest services mail fraud.