United States v. Surgery Center Management, LLC

I. BACKGROUND

A. The “Get Thin” Scheme Before Ozempic and similar “wonder drugs,” medically- assisted weight loss had to happen the old-fashioned way— surgical intervention. For Southern California residents in the 2010s (especially those stuck in traffic and staring at billboards), the Wizard of Loss was Dr. Julian Omidi.2 To make a long story short, Omidi helmed a massive health insurance fraud scheme called “Get Thin.” Omidi’s scheme promised dramatic weight loss through Lap-Band surgery and other medical procedures.3 Using catchy radio jingles

1 Omidi and SCM also challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions, certain jury instructions, several evidentiary rulings, and the legality of the restitution awards. We address these claims in a concurrently filed memorandum disposition, in which we affirm. 2 Omidi’s medical license was revoked in 2009 due to unrelated misconduct. 3 Lap-Band surgery is a weight loss surgery where a small balloon-like band is inserted into a patient’s stomach to shrink its size and limit the amount of food the patient can digest.

USA V. OMIDI

and ubiquitous billboard ads, Omidi urged potential…