Two Forest Hills Men Plead Guilty To Money Laundering Scheme: Feds

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS – Two men from Forest Hills pleaded guilty to committing a money laundering scene in city pharmacies by submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

Arkadiy Khaimov, 39, and Peter Khaim, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering after they and other pharmacy owners submitted fake claims to Medicare during the pandemic, funneled the money through shell companies, and used the proceeds to buy real estate and luxury items, prosecutors said.

Both men were charged by the DOJ in December 2020.

In dozens of pharmacies throughout the pandemic, the Forest Hills residents and others submitted claims for the expensive cancer medications Targretin Gel 1% and Panretin Gel 0.1% that were not prescribed by physicians or dispensed to patients and that usually require prior authorization, the DOJ said.

Amid the pandemic, pharmacies were permitted to submit claims for medications for which prior authorization was otherwise required via “Emergency Override Codes.”

Khaimov and Khaim funneled money through several shell companies, including pharmacy wholesale companies posed as legitimate businesses, prosecutors said.

The funds were sent to companies in China for distribution to individuals in Uzbekistan and the Forest Hills residents received some of the money in cash or were sent to the shell companies, the DOJ said.

Khaimov is scheduled to be sentenced on May 3, 2023, while Khaim is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10, 2023, prosecutors said, and they each face up to 20 years in prison.