An admitted Medicare swindler was living like the Great
Gatsby, spending millions on ultra-luxury cars, pricey wristwatches and a
$100,000 diamond engagement ring — all courtesy of taxpayers.
Maksim “Max” Shelikhov, 29, pleaded guilty to health-care
fraud and money-laundering conspiracies and faces up to 20 years in prison when
he is sentenced next week for his role in a corrupt Brooklyn medical clinic
that defrauded Medicare out of $50 million.
The high-living hustler admitted he used millions of
taxpayer dollars to amass an impressive collection of luxury automobiles and
apparel that included a $280,000 Aston Martin, a $31,000 Audemars Piguet
wristwatch and white textured Louis Vuitton loafers.
Shelikhov, who later became a government witness, was also
generous with his Medicare money.
The embezzled money poured in for five years, fueled by
corrupt Medicare patients who were bribed to fake a wide range of health
ailments.
Shelikhov used millions to underwrite his enviable
lifestyle, including a coveted American Express Centurion Card, known as the
“Black Card.”
His spoils — catalogued in official documents by federal
prosecutors in Brooklyn who seek to have them forfeited as part of his sentence
— included the Aston Martin for his 25th birthday.
Shelikhov’s gravy train was halted in 2010 when the FBI
raided the Brooklyn clinic that was used as a front and prosecutors Sarah Hall
and Shannon Jones secured convictions of nearly 20 employees.
He was arrested in 2011 after returning from his native
Ukraine and pleaded guilty to health-care fraud and money-laundering
conspiracies.
He then became a government informant and turned his own
mother and father over to the feds.
Authorities said Shelikhov’s mother was one of the
ringleaders while his father allegedly played a peripheral role.
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