Los Angeles, California – The founder of a now-defunct Southern California addiction treatment empire was arrested Tuesday on charges he masterminded a sprawling health insurance fraud scheme that netted over $149 million in bogus claims. Tonmoy Sharma, 61, of Tustin, was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport and faces multiple federal charges in connection with his role leading Sovereign Health Group.
According to a newly unsealed federal indictment, Sharma orchestrated a years-long conspiracy to exploit vulnerable patients, falsify insurance applications, and bill private insurers for services that were unnecessary, unauthorized, or outright fabricated. His alleged conduct included submitting more than $29 million in fraudulent claims for urinalysis testing and paying more than $21 million in illegal kickbacks to patient brokers under the guise of “marketing” contracts.
Also arrested was Paul Jin Sen Khor, 45, of Irvine, a former cash management supervisor at Sovereign. He faces conspiracy and illegal remuneration charges and pleaded not guilty during an initial appearance in Santa Ana federal court. A trial is scheduled for July 29…