PEPPER PIKE, Ohio — An Ohio man pleaded guilty to laundering $3.4 million for a transnational criminal organization behind what the Justice Department calls the largest healthcare fraud case it has ever prosecuted.
Eldar Zarbavel, 45, admitted laundering proceeds through regional banks on behalf of a network based in Russia and elsewhere. Prosecutors say the organization used fraudulent durable medical equipment companies to submit billions of dollars in false claims to Medicare and private insurers.
Zarbavel opened Northeast Ohio bank accounts for Royce Medical Supply LLC, a Florida company controlled by the organization, according to DOJ. Between July 2022 and July 2024, the company submitted approximately $1.42 billion in fraudulent claims. Medicare blocked nearly all of them, but some payments were made.
Prosecutors say Zarbavel then helped deposit, transfer and withdraw about $3.4 million in fraud proceeds during June and July 2024. The organization allegedly used false ownership and corporate records to disguise who actually controlled its medical equipment companies before moving money through shell companies and overseas accounts.
The prosecution is part of Operation Gold Rush, which DOJ says involved more than $10 billion in fraudulent claims overall. The department’s latest release says 35 people have been charged in the operation and 16 have been convicted.
Zarbavel pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. He is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 16 and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
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