A Wayland woman pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston in connection with a scheme to defraud an insurance provider for physical therapy services that were not provided to patients. Anna Barenboym, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Barenboym was indicted in February 2021 along with co-defendants Gyulnara Bayryshova, Slava Pride and Raya Bagardi. Barenboym was a licensed physical therapist employed at Brighton Physical Therapy (BPT), a Brighton-based physical therapy clinic owned by Bayryshova. Pride and Bagardi were also employed at BPT as licensed physical therapist assistants.
From October 2018 through June 2020, Barenboym and, allegedly, her co-defendants conspired to cause an insurance company to reimburse them for physical therapy services that were not actually provided and/or were not medically necessary and, in some cases, were provided by individuals not licensed to provide the services. Specifically, Barenboym and, allegedly, her co-defendants falsely billed for services purportedly rendered to patients injured in automobile accidents when the services were not actually provided. It is further alleged that BPT paid patients for referrals, referred patients to attorneys to assist with patients’ insurance settlements and accepted kickbacks from those attorneys in return. Barenboym is the first defendant to plead guilty in the case.
