Bath Beach

Philly money launderer pleads guilty To $13M Brooklyn medical fraud scheme

July 25, 2013 U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of NY
Screen Shot 2013-07-25 at 3.09.55 PM.png
Share this:

Leonid Zalkind, 36, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering before Brooklyn Federal Judge Nina Gershon.

According to court documents, from 2010 to 2012, Zalkind operated numerous shell companies and bank accounts through which he laundered the proceeds of health care fraud from the Brooklyn clinic Cropsey Medical Care PLLC (“Cropsey Medical”).

Zalkind conspired with others to accept checks from Cropsey Medical, which were made payable to various shell companies Zalkind controlled.  These checks did not represent payment for any legitimate service at Cropsey Medical, but rather were written to launder Cropsey Medical’s fraudulently obtained health care proceeds.

Zalkind admitted at the plea proceeding that he deposited these checks into bank accounts he controlled, intending these transactions to hide and disguise the fact that these funds were proceeds of a crime.

The proceeds of checks Zalkind negotiated and cashed were given to the owners and operators of Cropsey Medical, at which point they were used to pay illegal cash kickbacks to Cropsey Medical’s supposed patients.  

According to court documents, from approximately November 2009 to October 2012, Cropsey Medical submitted more than $13 million in claims to Medicare and Medicaid, seeking reimbursement for a wide variety of fraudulent medical services and procedures, including physician office visits, physical therapy and diagnostic tests.

Eight individuals, including a doctor, owners/operators and employees of Cropsey Medical clinics, and other people who paid and received kickbacks for referring people to the clinic,  await trial before Judge Gershon. Trial dates have not yet been scheduled for these individuals.

Zalkind’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 2, 2013. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment