Imperial Valley dentist Javad Aghaloo has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for defrauding Medicare and then covering it up.

His former billing manager, Melissa Rosas, 42 of Calexico,  was sentenced to three years of probation and one year of home confinement for obstructing Medicares effort to audit Aghaloo. The two, along with others, conspired to commit health care fraud by billing Medicare for procedures that were not covered, not performed, or otherwise not necessary. Aghaloo had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and Rosas pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal audit. Aghaloo was also ordered to forfeit more than $1 million in property purchased with money obtained from the fraud and pay restitution to Medicare of nearly $8.5 million. 

According to court records, Aghaloo and others recruited Medicare beneficiaries to get dental work done at one of Aghaloo's two dental offices in Imperial County. To recruit Medicare patients, Aghaloo and his employees marketed their dental services as being covered by Medicare. Aghaloo and his employees knew tis was untrue since Medicare does not cover dental services. Aghaloo"s dental office submitted more than 7,000 false claims totaling over $18 million of which Aghaloo's office received nearly $8.5 million. To conceal the fraud, between April 2017 and October 2018, Rosas and Office Manager Theresa Flores, submitted false documents to a federal auditor. Flores, who also pleaded guilty to obstructing an audit, is scheduled to be sentenced March 8, 2024.