Physical Therapist Pleads Guilty To Role In Insurance Fraud Scheme

BOSTON – A Wayland woman pleaded guilty recently in federal court in Boston in connection with a physical therapy insurance fraud scheme to defraud an insurance provider for physical therapy services that were not provided to patients.

Anna Barenboym, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for July 28, 2022.

Barenboym was indicted in February 2021 along with co-defendants Gyulnara Bayryshova, Slava Pride and Raya Bagardi.

Barenboym was a licensed physical therapist employed at Brighton Physical Therapy (BPT), a Brighton-based physical therapy clinic owned by Bayryshova. Pride and Bagardi were also employed at BPT as licensed physical therapist assistants. From October 2018 through June 2020, Barenboym and, allegedly, her co-defendants conspired to cause an insurance company to reimburse them for physical therapy services that were not actually provided and/or were not medically necessary and, in some cases, were provided by individuals not licensed to provide the services.

Specifically, Barenboym and, allegedly, her co-defendants falsely billed for services purportedly rendered to patients injured in automobile accidents when the services were not actually provided. It is further alleged that BPT paid patients for referrals, referred patients to attorneys to assist with patients’ insurance settlements and accepted kickbacks from those attorneys in return.

Barenboym is the first defendant to plead guilty in the case.

The charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts; Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long; and Quincy Police Chief Paul Keenan made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura J. Kaplan of Rollins’ Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the physical therapy insurance fraud charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

[Source: United States Department of Justice]