Five Southern Californians were sentenced to prison for defrauding Medicare out of nearly $16 million through a fraud and money laundering scheme.
The five people involved in the large-scale operation were identified as:
- Juan Carlos Esparza, 33, of Valley Village
- Karpis Srapyan, 35, of Winnetka
- Susanna Harutyunyan, 39, of Winnetka
- Petros Fichidzhyan, 44, of Granada Hills
- Mihran Panosyan, 47, of Winnetka
The group had stolen millions of dollars by setting up sham hospice companies and laundering the fraudulent proceeds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
From July 2019 until January 2023, Esparza, Fichidzhyan and Srapyan operated four sham hospices. The companies would bill Medicare for hospice services that were medically unnecessary and never provided…