2010 Medicaid fraud

Organized crime event in the United States A case of Medicaid fraud was carried out in 2010 by an Armenian-American organized crime group called the Mirzoyan–Terdjanian organization.Frieden Terry October 13, 2010 Dozens arrested in health care fraud schemes CNN http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/13/health.care.fraud/ October 13, 2010Rothfeld Michael October 14, 2010 Medicare Scheme Netted $35 Million, Officials Say The Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703673604575550002841068546 live subscription October 14, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20171202044813/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703673604575550002841068546 2 December 2017 The scam involved a crime syndicate which created 118 fake clinics in 25 states and used stolen medical license numbers of real doctors and matched them to legitimate Medicare patients whose names and billing information were also stolen. The group submitted more than $163 million in claims and received $35 million of that before they were caught. Prosecutors charged 73 individuals in several states with allegations of racketeering conspiracy, bank fraud, money laundering and identity theft. The crackdown A scandal surfaced involving a case to defraud the Medicaid and other healthcare programs such as Medicare.October 13, 2010 Dozens arrested in US Medicare scheme Herald Sun http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/dozens-arrested-in-us-medicare-scheme/story-e6frf7jx-1225938441766 live October 13, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110615051552/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/dozens-arrested-in-us-medicare-scheme/story-e6frf7jx-1225938441766 15 June 2011 With an estimated amount to be stolen totalling $163 million of which $35 million was already acquired by the criminals, it involved more than 50 ethnic Armenians living in the United States who were arrested on October 13, 2010. The operation was run by more than 400 FBI agents.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/10/dozens-in-los-angeles-arrested-in-medicare-fraud-crackdown.html Dozens in L.A. arrested in federal Medicare fraud crackdown Los Angeles Times October 13, 2010 October 13, 2010 In addition to FBI, IRS and local enforcement agencies in California, Georgia, New Mexico, New York and Ohio were involved in the probe.Glover Scott October 14, 2010 52 arrested in sweeping Medicare fraud case Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-healthcare-fraud-raid-20101014,0,7387144.story October 13, 2010 The Justice Department has already indicted 73 individuals in New York and four other states. 44 defendants were indicted in New York, along with 10 in California, seven in New Mexico, six in Ohio and six in Georgia. According to the authorities, the Armenian-American organized crime group operated across 25 states.Chang Ailsa Ailsa Chang October 14, 2010 52 arrested in sweeping Medicare fraud case NPR http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-healthcare-fraud-raid-20101014,0,7387144.story October 18, 2010http://www.massdevice.com/news/feds-take-down-largest-ever-medicare-fraud-ring Feds take down largest-ever Medicare fraud ring Mass Device October 14, 2010 October 18, 2010 Leadership According to the authorities, the individuals acted within an organized crime enterprise run by Armen Kazarian aka PZO, a Soviet Union mobster part of the Vor v zakone who arrived in the US in 1996 and resided in Glendale, California. The other alleged ringleaders, Davit Mirzoyan, 34, also from Glendale and Robert Terdjanian, 35, from Brooklyn were also indicted.Dozens Charged in $163M Medicare Fraud Scheme http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dozens-charged-in-163m-medicare-fraud-scheme/ 1 November 2014 CBSNews CBSNews.com 31 October 2010 The authorities said most members of the organization were Armenian nationals or immigrants. The suspects have been allegedly laundering the stolen money.Krastev Nikola October 13, 2010 U.S. Charges 44 Armenian-Americans In $100 Million Fraud Case RFE/RL https://www.rferl.org/a/US_Charges_44_ArmenianAmericans_In_100_Million_Fraud_Case/2189811.html October 13, 2010 Prosecutors said that Kazarian travelled to New York to erase a $200,000 debt of one associate to another. When the second associate was unable to pay the fee of $100,000 for that service, his yacht was seized by Kazarian. Charges According to authorities, the investigation started after they received reports about theft of personal information, including Social Security numbers of 2,900 Medicare patients in upstate New York. The government claimed the group billed Medicare from phantom clinics for unnecessary medical services or for services which were never performed by stealing the identities of both doctors and patients. According to officials, about $35 million of the bills claimed by the network was paid out by Medicaid already.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11539601 Armenians face US health care scam charges BBC October 14, 2010 October 14, 2010 A total of 118 medical clinics in 25 states were used to defraud the US health insurance program. One of the fake clinics was run from a small office over Coney Island auto body shop. Two Queens doctors and a worker at the Lutheran Hospital in Brooklyn were part of the gangster network.Shifrel Scott October 14, 2010 Armenian-American gang busted for massive $163 million Medicare scam New York Daily News https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/armenian-american-gang-busted-massive-163-million-medicare-scam-article-1.187168 October 14, 2010 The U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, declared that the Mirzoyan–Terdjanian organization, an Armenian-run syndicate in New York and Los Angeles, used threats, intimidation and violence, operating in classic mafia style. Bharara said "This Armenian group allegedly employed a raft of rackets, extortion, credit-card fraud, identity theft, immigration fraud, and even distribution of contraband cigarettes and stolen Viagra" The penalties range from 10 years to life in prison. The defendants will be tried in the states where they have been indicted. In the state of Georgia, six people, Arthur Manasarian, 58; Gegham Sargsyan, 56; Khoren Gasparian, 27; Sahak Tumanyan, 43, and his wife, Hasmik Tumanyan, 38; and Toni R. Lowery, 27, five of them being ethnic Armenians were indicted for opening, operating and filing false claims to defraud Medicaid from five fake clinics in Brunswick, Savannah and Macon such as "Brunswick Medical Supply Inc". Sargsyan and Gasparian have escaped and are believed to have possibly left the country.Dickson Terry October 14, 2010 Savannah woman, 5 Armenians indicted in Medicare fraud scheme The Florida Times Union http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-10-14/story/savannah-woman-5-armenians-indicted-medicare-fraud-scheme October 18, 2010 One of the highest amounts of the stolen taxpayer money is attributed to the state of Ohio, where the criminals of the organization billed the state for $44 million of which $20 million was paid out. All six charged with the crime by Ohio authorities are ethnic Armenians: Karen Chilyan, Eduard Oganesyan, and Arus Gyulbudakyan, aka Fina Markova, the leader of Ohio ring, were apprehended, while Lilit Galstyan, Julieta Ghazaryan, and Marine Movsisyan are still at-large.Haggerty Dan October 13, 2010 FBI: Armenian 'mob style' crime ring steals millions in Northeast Ohio, 73 indicted nationwide WEWS http://spodeklawgroup.com/fbi-armenian-mob-style-crime-ring-steals-millions-in-northeast-ohio-73-indicted-nationwide.pdf dead 1 November 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141101063731/http://spodeklawgroup.com/fbi-armenian-mob-style-crime-ring-steals-millions-in-northeast-ohio-73-indicted-nationwide.pdf 1 November 2014 Outcome On July 8, 2011, the leader of the criminal network Armen Kazarian pleaded guilty to racketeering charges. He faced up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for 6 October 2011.Armen Kazarian "Pzo" Pleads Guilty in Medicare Fraud Case. Hetq.am. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011. In February 2013, Kazarian was sentenced to 37 months in prison, to three years of supervised release and was also ordered to pay a $60,000 fine.Leader of Armenian Organized Crime Ring Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 37 Months in Prison for His Role in $100 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme See also United States Medicine Operation Power Outage Armenian mafia Armenian Power Healthcare fraud References External links Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York. Department of Justice Press Release Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges 44 Members and Associates of an Armenian-American Organized Crime Enterprise with $100 Million Medicare Fraud Category:October 2010 crimes in the United States Category:Organized crime events in the United States Category:Fraud