Acupuncturist Pleads Guilty in Fraud Scheme

The owner of a Sherman Oaks acupuncture clinic that catered to the entertainment industry pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges of billing insurance companies for hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical services that were not performed or were not needed by the patients.

Miriam Yedvab, 49, of Tarzana, signed the plea agreement before U.S. District Judge William D. Keller in downtown Los Angeles.

Yedvab committed two types of fraud at a loss of $200,000 to $350,000 to insurance companies, said Jack Weiss, the assistant U.S. attorney handling the case.

In some cases, Yedvab billed insurance companies for medical treatments that were not performed, Weiss said. In other cases, knowing that certain medical procedures were not needed, she performed them anyway based on prescriptions from a doctor who conspired with her in the scheme.

Mordehai Zaray-Mizrahi, a 63-year-old Sherman Oaks physician, pleaded guilty in August to writing the prescriptions. He was sentenced in November to three years probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. He also was ordered to pay $42,500 in restitution to John Hancock Insurance.

“The U.S. attorney’s office takes very seriously cases involving medical professionals who defraud health insurance companies,” Weiss said.

Yedvab’s sentencing is set for August.

Yedvab could receive up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to prosecutors. She has also agreed to pay restitution.