LOS ANGELES — The former operator of the now-defunct 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign was sentenced Monday to seven years behind bars for using fabricated sleep studies to persuade insurance companies to pay out tens of millions of dollars for Lap-Band surgery.
Julian Omidi, 54, of West Hollywood, and one of his companies, Beverly Hills-based Surgery Center Management, were found guilty in December 2021 of multiple wire and mail fraud counts. Co-defendant Dr. Mirali Zarrabi, of Beverly Hills, was acquitted of all charges.
Omidi, a former doctor, also was found guilty of two counts of making false statements relating to health care matters and one count each of aggravated identity theft and money laundering. Additionally, Omidi and SCM were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
SCM was sentenced to five years probation. Fines and restitution are to be determined at a hearing in June.
The Lap-Band is a silicone ring that is surgically implanted around the stomach to discourage overeating. The weight-loss-surgery business was widely advertised on Southern California freeway billboards, radio and television, attracting people desperate to shed excess pounds.
However, before insurance companies would pre-approve the $100,000 surgery, prospective patients had to show they suffered from certain afflictions, including sleep apnea.
Prosecutors told the Los Angeles federal court jury that Omidi created a process that turned “patients into profits” by directing employees to “falsely diagnose patients with a sleep disorder they didn’t have.”
The defense argued that Omidi was a victim of a sleep-study con man named Charles Klasky, who “posed as an expert in sleep medicine” and tricked Omidi into allowing him to oversee the sleep-study program.
Klasky pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge and was placed on probation last year.
Prosecutors told the jury that patients were harmed…
Read the full article here
