A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted a Long Beach couple on Thursday of health care fraud charges in connection with a $1.5 million Medicare fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice.

Amalya Cherniavsky, 41—the former owner of JC Medical Supply, a purported durable medical equipment supply company—and her husband Vladislav Tcherniavsky, 46—who co-operated the business—were both convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud, the DOJ announced.

The Cherniavskys paid illegal kickbacks to patient recruiters in exchange for patient referrals, according to evidence at the trial. The defendants also paid kickbacks to doctors for fraudulent prescriptions, which the defendants then used to support fraudulent bills to Medicare.

The prescriptions were primarily for expensive, medically unnecessary power wheelchairs, officials said.

Between 2006 and 2013, the Cherniavskys submitted $1,520,727 in fraudulent claims to Medicare and were reimbursed $783,756 for those claims.

The pair will be sentenced on December 14, before U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. of the Central District of California, who presided over the trial.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force brought forth the case, which was investigated by the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General’s Los Angeles Regional Office, and the California Department of Justice.

Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.