CHICAGO — Four Chicago-area health care professionals and a personal trainer have been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly scheming to pocket $6.5 million from private health and auto insurers for physical therapy, chiropractic and other services that were never rendered.

INESSA KATSNELSON, also known as “Inessa Blinov,” “Inessa Danuchevsky” and “Inna,” a personal trainer and singer who worked out of a gym in Northbrook, and MAYA YAKUBOVICH, a medical claims biller in Arlington Heights, recruited friends and family to permit their insurance companies to be falsely billed for nonexistent health care services purportedly rendered by suburban clinics operated by co-schemers, according to the 22-count indictment.  In exchange, the friends and family had their insurance deductibles exhausted at no out-of-pocket expense to them, and many received free gym training sessions and massages, the indictment states. 

From 2006 until last month, Katsnelson, 50, of Glenview, Yakubovich, 52, of Arlington Heights, and the other defendants – physical therapy center operator YAROSLAVA BOYKO, also known as “Yana Boyko,” 76, of Morton Grove, medical claims biller TETYANA VORONKINA, also known as “Tanya Voronkina,” 54, of Mundelein, and massage therapist VIKTOR DANCHUK, 57, of Roselle – and their co-schemers fraudulently obtained a total of at least $6.5 million from at least nine insurance companies, the indictment states.

The indictment was returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, charging the five defendants with health care fraud.  Katsnelson is also individually charged in the indictment with aggravated identity theft for allegedly using the identifying information of a physician to create certain fraudulent claims.  Arraignment for all five defendants is set for Nov. 8, 2018, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Craig Goldberg, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago; James Vanderberg, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather K. McShain and Matthew L. Kutcher.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.  Health care fraud is punishable by up to ten years.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.