A San Fernando Valley fraudster was stamped with a 30-month prison term for hawking bogus and second-hand medical devices as new. Pulling in nearly $6 million from the scam. Kambiz Youabian, 50, of Tarzana, got the book thrown at him by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who also told him to cough up over $5.9 million in restitution, and forced him to forfeit more than $1.6 million in assets.
Youabian, who owned MSY Technologies Inc., ran his grifting operation under the guises "Thermagen" and "Global Electronic Supplies". He admitted his guilt to one count of mail fraud and one count of introducing a misbranded medical device into interstate commerce back in January 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The swindler purchased spent transducers for peanuts, say $50, slapped on fake serial numbers to give the impression of shiny newness, and then resold them at a steep markup.
Youabian filled his pockets with at least $5,821,474 from selling these refurbished gadgets to healthcare providers, some of whom believed they were getting new devices with a full 2,400 remaining treatments. His operation also extended to counterfeit PAC keys, necessary for running fat-reducing laser machines, the Justice Department reported.
The scam was busted wide open in June 2022 when the law came knocking at Youabian's and his GES-Thermagen office doors. Officials found a treasure trove of evidence: 75 transducers in different refurb stages, a workstation for manufacturing them, and records of the dodgy business's expenses. Youabian's scheme not only lined his pockets but also punched the reputations of legit device manufacturers and distributors square in the gut.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service, with Assistant United States Attorney Daniel G. Boyle handling the prosecution. Ciaran McEvoy, Public Information Officer, laid out Youabian's laundry list of misconduct which included damaging the good names of established medical device brands.
