Four residents of California have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in an elaborate hospice fraud scheme that swindled Medicare out of nearly $16 million dollars. The defendants were also implicated in a money laundering operation aimed at masking the ill-gotten gains of their fraudulent activities.
Juan Carlos Esparza, 33, and Susanna Harutyunyan, 39, were the latest to receive their prison terms, with Esparza facing 57 months and Harutyunyan handling a 15-month sentence. Additional monetary penalties come in the form of hefty restitution amounts. Esparza was ordered to pay over $1.8 million, and Harutyunyan approximately $2.82 million, as reported by the Department of Justice.
The scam centered around four sham hospice companies, including the House of Angels Hospice, which was owned by Esparza. From mid-2019 through early 2023, these entities billed Medicare for services that were either medically unnecessary or never provided. To keep the deceit under wraps, foreign nationals' identities were stolen to serve as phantom owners, allowing the group to manipulate banking and Medicare information.
Karpis Srapyan and Mihran Panosyan, part of the same nefarious cohort, were previously sentenced in October and September, respectively. Both received 57 months' imprisonment and were similarly tasked with paying restitution—Srapyan owing over $3.2 million and Panosyan, the most significant amount, close to $4.68 million. The linchpin of the operation, Petros Fichidzhyan, faces a 12-year prison term and is responsible for the restitution of a staggering $17.12 million.
This case reflects the wider initiative led by the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program under the Criminal Division’s efforts to clamp down on health care fraud. Since its inception, over 5,800 individuals have been charged in fraud schemes that have cost federal health care programs and private insurers in excess of $30 billion. The FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) are continuing their investigation into this case.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti; Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the HHS-OIG were credited with the announcement of the sentencings. Prosecution was managed by Trial Attorneys Sarah E. Edwards, Allison L. McGuire, and Michael Bacharach of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara B. Vavere overseeing asset forfeiture.
