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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Spa Owner Sentenced for False Billing

A Glendale skin care and massage business owner pleaded guilty Friday to conning insurance companies in to paying for procedures she wasn’t performing. Robyn Alexandre pleaded guilty to single counts of insurance fraud and filing false tax returns as part of a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Office. Alexandre owned New Life Skin Center in Glendale, where investigators found she had been charging some customers’ insurance companies for expensive treatments when they had actually received simple procedures. Investigators said insurance companies of customers who received facials that normally cost $45 to $65 at the spa were being charged $250 or more for acne surgery of chiropractic treatments Alexandre did not provide. An investigator for Woodland Hills-based managed health care provider Health Net Inc. initially uncovered the billing scheme. Alexandre was arrested in October and charged with 19 counts of insurance fraud, six counts of false tax returns, four counts of grand theft and one count of money laundering. Her plea arrangement reduced those charges and Alexandre will serve 52 weekends in jail and pay $257,171 in fees and $454,000 in restitution to insurance providers Blue Cross, Aetna, Blue Shield and Health Net.

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