Karen Sarkisyan, Gayk Akhsharumov, and Babken Chalkadryan, of San Gabriel Hospice & Palliative Care Inc. (“San Gabriel”), were each previously charged in the U.S Central District Court of California with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their roles in an alleged scheme to submit false Medicare claims.
On April 3, the Department of Justice announced Karen Sarkisyan, aka Kevin Sarkisyan, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States of America. Sarkisyan submitted false enrollment applications to Medicare that deceptively identified a straw owner as the sole owner and manager, concealing the actual beneficial owners and managers.
According to court documents, Sarkisyan submitted approximately $3,668,050 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for San Gabriel of which, the government paid $3,180,677.
Sarkisyan is scheduled to be sentenced on September 11 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Co-conspirator Gayk Akhsharumov previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 14. The third indicted co-conspirator remains a fugitive.
Since March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, comprised of fifteen strike forces operating in twenty-five federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion.
The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent clients of all types and sizes in connection with healthcare fraud and government investigations. If you need assistance with such a matter, please contact us today.