A medical lab owner today was sentenced to eight years in state prison after pleading guilty to California felony charges of failing to file a state income tax return and conspiracy in the theft of more than $500,000 in a Medi-Cal and Medi-Care fraud scheme, according to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).
Mohammad Yasin, aka Charles Massey, 26, operated several medical laboratories in Southern California. His labs victimized the Medi-Cal and Medi-Care programs by submitting fraudulent claims for services in 1998 and 1999.
In the scheme, the laboratories submitted fraudulent Medi-Cal claims by charging for services that were never rendered or authorized by doctors. The payments received by the lab were negotiated at various banks, as well as markets and convenience stores in California and New Jersey.
Yasin failed to file a California personal income tax return for 1999. He owes the FTB $10,519 in delinquent taxes, penalties and interest. All income is taxable including income derived from illegal activities.
On March 11, 2003, Yasin pleaded guilty to a felony count of first-degree money laundering in New Jersey Superior Court, Hudson County. Soon after his guilty plea, Yasin was sentenced to a 12-year prison term in New Jersey.
In a negotiated plea arrangement before Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald P. Kreber, Yasin was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in restitution to the Medi-Cal and Medi-Care programs, in addition to the restitution to the FTB. Yasin has been in custody since his arrest in June 2002. He will serve all of his prison time in California.
Deputy Attorney General Hardy Gold prosecuted the case. This was a joint investigation by the California Attorney General's Office, Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the FTB.