A player who spent years on the cold ice of hockey rinks has landed himself in some seriously hot water.
Former Maple Leafs left wing Sergei Berezin has been arrested in the United States for two counts of Medicaid and food stamps fraud, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Berezin and his wife Lyudmila Ustakova own and reside a Boca Raton home valued at $676,502, yet the couple allegedly paid American Advisory Associates to win them government benefits intended for low-income Americans. The NHL star and the owner of American Advisory Associates allegedly paid $500 to two employees at Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) every two weeks to approve clients’ applications.
An investigation into the matter also revealed that while Berezin was conducting this scam, he informed a confidential source that he earned $100,000 a year training hockey players and managing rental properties.
The Medicaid program ended up paying more than $67,000 for Berezin’s benefits between January 2010 and December 2013.
Medicaid fraud costs the U.S. health care industry an estimated $60 billion to $90 billion per year. Many critics feel that the Affordable Care Act, which expands eligibility for Medicaid, will contribute to even more cases of fraud – costs which eventually are passed onto insurers and their agents.
At least Berezin can take comfort in knowing that he is not the first professional athlete to have played for a Toronto team before going on to face fraud charges. Blue Jays pitcher Ted Lilly narrowly escaped jail time when it was discovered that he purchased auto insurance for an RV after it had already been damaged.
