“(SANTA ANA) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today obtained a prison sentence of more than 18 years for a key player in an organized crime ring that defrauded California’s Medi-Cal system of more than $20 million. The sentence is the longest in California history for Medi-Cal fraud. “This record sentence is the result of an intensive, five-year investigation into and prosecution of a sophisticated criminal operation that stole patient and physician identify information and submitted false claims in order to steal millions of dollars from the state’s Medi-Cal system,” Lockyer said. “It also illustrates the aggressive stance my office takes in prosecuting those who try to cheat a system that more than six million Californians rely on for vital health care.” Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazuhiru Makino sentenced Tahir Saeed Sherani to18 years and eight months in California prison. Sherani, 38, was convicted by an Orange County jury on January 6, 2004, on 21 felony counts, including identify theft, Medi-Cal fraud, grand theft, conspiracy and tax evasion. Sherani was ordered to pay criminal penalties of $5 million as well as $2.5 million in restitution to Medi-Cal and $903,000 in back taxes to the state.”