WASHINGTON – Eighteen Los Angeles area residents have been charged in eight separate indictments for their roles in Medicare fraud schemes totaling more than $33 million, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Thomas P. O’Brien announced today.
Federal and state Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF) agents arrested 18 people today in the greater Los Angeles area. Agents targeted durable medical equipment (DME) company owners, medical professionals and medical clinic owners who are alleged to have engaged in various schemes to defraud Medicare of $33,264,133 in fraudulent billing. The eight indictments in which the defendants are charged outline various types of fraud including schemes involving the fraudulent ordering of power wheelchairs, orthotics, hospital beds, enteral nutrition and feeding supplies. Enteral nutrition is sustenance ingested by patients through a feeding apparatus. In addition, federal agents began executing search warrants at six locations throughout Los Angeles County.
"Today’s arrests are the result of government agencies working together to proactively target those allegedly stealing taxpayer money," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich. "For the more than 40 million Americans who rely on the Medicare program for health coverage, law enforcement efforts to bring those committing these frauds to justice as quickly as possible will also help protect the integrity of the program and taxpayer dollars."
"Strike Force operations are a new weapon in federal law enforcement’s arsenal to protect American taxpayers from Medicare fraud," said U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. "With real-time access to Medicare claims data, law enforcement in Los Angeles is developing better tools to enhance our abilities to combat fraud in our community."
"Any time false claims are submitted for payment, the nation’s health insurance programs suffer," said Daniel Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. "OIG will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify any individuals who manipulate the system to illegally obtain crucial Medicare or Medicaid dollars."
"Those who defraud the Medicaid and Medicare programs and private insurance companies increase the cost of health care for everyone," said Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. "Career criminals and organized criminal groups have become involved in health care fraud in Southern California and across the country. The FBI is committed to rooting out scams and reclaiming money improperly paid out by government-sponsored programs and private insurers. The Strike Force affords us the necessary prosecutorial support to successfully address this multi-billion dollar crime problem."
"The use of real-time Medicare claims data continues to help the Strike Force team members identify potential fraudulent activities in Southern California," said Kerry Weems, acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). "With more than 10,000 active durable medical equipment suppliers in California, the Strike Force’s efforts are helping to protect Medicare and Medicare beneficiaries."
The first indictment charges Armen Shagoyan, 38, Edward Aslanyan, 35, Carolyn A. Vasquez, 44, and Zurama C. Espana, 29, with conspiring to submit more than $16.3 million in Medicare claims for medically unnecessary power wheelchairs between April 2007 and June 2008 from medical clinics they owned in Los Angeles and Van Nuys. In addition to the clinics, Aslanyan and Shagoyan are charged with owning multiple DME companies that allegedly billed Medicare for unnecessary items. Shagoyan, Aslanyan, Vasquez and Espana are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Shagoyan, Aslanyan and Vasquez are also charged with six counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program. Espana is additionally charged with four counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program. If convicted on all charged counts, Shagoyan, Aslanyan and Vasquez each face up to 65 years in prison, and Espana faces up to 45 years in prison.
The second indictment charges that Garnik Yesayan, 44, conspired to submit $6.9 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for orthotic devices, motorized wheelchairs, hospital beds, enteral nutrition and feeding supply kits, diabetic shoes and other medical devices between January 2006 and November 2007. Yesayan is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program. If convicted on all charged counts, Yesayan faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.
The third indictment alleges that between November 2004 and September 2008, Elsie R. Edmond, 50, Marlon O. Palma, 37, Leslie V. Duarte, 22, Josue Gonzalez, 27, Kelechi Ajouku, 28, and Gloria C. Hernandez, 54, conspired to submit $2.3 million in fraudulent claims through a DME company called Santos Medical Supply to the Medicare program for medically unnecessary enteral nutrition and feeding supply kits, and motorized wheelchairs. Hernandez allegedly recruited patients as well as obtained false prescriptions and sold them to Santos. Edmond, Palma, Duarte, Gonzalez, Ajouku and Hernandez are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Edmond, Palma, Gonzalez and Ajouku are also charged with 24 counts of submitting false claims to Medicare, Duarte with 16 counts of submitting false claims to Medicare and Hernandez with eight counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare. In addition, the indictment charges Edmond, Palma, Duarte, Gonzalez, Ajouku and Hernandez with one count of aggravated identify theft. If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison. Edmond, Palma, Gonzalez and Ajouku each face a maximum sentence of 252 years in prison if convicted on all charged counts. If convicted on all charged counts, Duarte faces a maximum sentence of 252 years in prison and Hernandez faces a maximum sentence of 252 years in prison.
Teresa Bagdasarian, 52, is alleged in a fourth indictment to have conspired with others to file more than $1 million in false claims with Medicare between May 2006 and May 2008. Bagdasarian allegedly billed Medicare for unnecessary orthotic devices, wheelchairs, canes, walkers, hospital beds and heating implements. Bagdasarian is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and eight counts of health care fraud. If convicted on all charged counts, Bagdasarian faces a maximum 90 year prison sentence.
In a fifth indictment, between January 2006 and April 2007, Andranik Mirzoyan, 56, and Aram Mirzoyan, 21, are alleged to have conspired to submit approximately $1.8 million in false claims to Medicare for wheelchairs and other DME. The indictment alleges that Andranik Mirzoyan owned and controlled a DME company, while Aram Mirzoyan coordinated the deliveries of unneeded DME. They are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud. If convicted on all counts, each faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison.
Levon Sedrakyan, 34, is charged in a separate sixth indictment with conspiring to submit $3.1 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for orthotic devices, motorized wheelchairs, hospital beds, enteral nutrition and feeding supply kits, diabetic shoes and other medical devices. Sedrakyan allegedly used multiple companies that he placed in other individuals names to fraudulently bill Medicare. Sedrakyan is charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, four counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program and one count of making false statements in a matter involving a health care benefit plan. If convicted on all charged counts, Sedrakyan faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
Andrews Asante, 53, is alleged in another indictment to have conspired to file more than half a million dollars in false claims to Medicare between June 2005 and April 2006. Asante is charged with billing for unnecessary and undelivered orthotic devices, motorized wheelchairs, hospital beds, enteral nutrition and feeding supply kits, and diabetic shoes. Asante is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Finally, in a superseding indictment, Ronald L. Bradshaw and Anna Vasilyan were charged with conspiring to file more than $1.5 million in false claims to Medicare. The indictment charges that Vasilyan paid patient recruiters to bring beneficiaries to a clinic where Bradshaw, a physician’s assistant, allegedly prescribed unnecessary medical equipment. Bradshaw and Vasilyan are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 10 counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program. If convicted on all charged counts, each faces a maximum sentence of 110 years in prison.
These cases are a result of the operations by MFSF, a multi-agency team of federal, state and local prosecutors and agents designed specifically to combat Medicare fraud. Strike force operations began in the Los Angeles area on March 1, 2008.
The cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jonathan Baum, Steven Kim, Joseph C. Hudzik, Cristina M. Moreno and Jeremy M. Kirkland of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret L. Carter, April A. Christine and Christopher Lui of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The cases were investigated by the FBI; the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; CMS; the California Department of Justice; the Bureau of Medical Fraud and Elder Abuse; and the Los Angeles County Health Authority Law Enforcement Task Force. The Strike Force is led by Kirk Ogrosky, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in Washington, D.C., and the office of U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien of the Central District of California. Since the inception of MFSF operations in 2007, federal prosecutors have indicted 103 cases with 175 defendants in both Los Angeles and Miami. Collectively, these defendants fraudulently billed the Medicare program for more than half a billion dollars.
An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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