The FBI has arrested five individuals in connection with a $15 million hospice fraud and money laundering scheme. The arrests occurred in California, a state known for a rising trend in hospice fraud, along with other states like Arizona, Texas, and Nevada.
Petros Fichidzhyan, Juan Carlos Esparza, and Karpis Srapyan are alleged to have owned and operated several sham hospice companies, falsely claiming they were owned by “foreign nationals,” according to the U.S. Justice Department.
According to a statement from the Justice Department, “The defendants allegedly used the foreign nationals’ identifying information to open bank accounts, sign property leases, and, through Fichidzhyan, to make fraudulent calls to Medicare, submitting false claims for hospice services.” The fraudulent claims misappropriated doctors’ identities, asserting that these doctors deemed hospice services necessary for patients who were, in reality, not terminally ill and had never received care from the bogus hospices.
The other two defendants, Susanna Harutyunyan and Mihran Panosyan, are accused of laundering the funds fraudulently obtained from Medicare. The five individuals allegedly used the stolen money to purchase real estate, vehicles, and other luxury goods and services.
Fichidzhyan, Esparza, and Srapyan face charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, while Fichidzhyan and Esparza also face charges of health care fraud. All defendants are charged with conspiracy to launder money and money laundering. Additionally, Fichidzhyan has been charged with making false statements. If convicted, each defendant could face a maximum penalty of at least 40 years in prison, with Fichidzhyan, Esparza, and Srapyan facing an additional mandatory minimum of two years for aggravated identity theft.
The case is currently under investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General, and it is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s criminal division.