Hundreds were charged by federal authorities across the United States last June,in cases that cumulatively allege $2 billion in bogus billings. The nationwide sweep includes charges against 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals who allegedly participated in health care fraud schemes.

One of the indictments outlines a conspiracy that was responsible for more than $250 million in fraudulent claims for prescriptions that were filled by compounding pharmacies in Southern California and elsewhere.

The indictment charged Irena Shut, 41, an attorney who lives in Hidden Hills, with paying kickbacks to two podiatrists to authorize prescriptions written on pre-printed prescription pads designed to maximize insurance payments, regardless of the medical need for an expensive compounded formulary for each “patient.”

The charged podiatrists, Domenic Signorelli, 51, of Irvine, and Robert Joseph, 51, of Huntington Beach, along with several other unnamed co-conspirator doctors, allegedly received kickbacks for “writing” the prescriptions. Once the prescriptions were filled, members of the conspiracy  submitted fraudulent claims to federal, state and private insurers for the compounded drugs, prosecutors said.

Signorelli is currently listed as a QME in podiatry by the DIR with 9 offices in Southern California.

Signorelli agreed to change his plea to guilty when he signed a Plea Agreement on July 22. He agreed to cooperate with authorities, and to forfeit nearly $1M which he agreed he obtained as a result of the criminal conduct.

His 29 page Plea Agreement provides additional facts about his case. TYY Consulting, Inc. purported to provide “marketing consulting services” to pharmacies, specifically including Concierge Compounding Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Precise Compounding Pharmacy, Inc.

Irena Shut, a Woodland Hills attorney (SBN 240662 ) was a TYY “marketing” representative, based in Los Angeles, California, who, through her entity, Mise Marketing, was paid percentage-based commissions for facilitating the referral of prescriptions for compounded drugs and other items reimbursed by health care benefit programs to the TYY-Affiliated Pharmacies.

Singorelli and Joseph were podiatrists licensed in California, who, in exchange for kickback and bribe payments from Shut, wrote prescriptions for compounded drugs that were routed to the TYY-Affiliated Pharmacies. Shut paid defendant approximately $955,000, concealed through various means, including payments to two members of defendant’s family, in exchange for authorizing prescriptions for compounded drugs that were dispensed at the TYY-Related Pharmacies.