United States Attorney
Defendants Also Charged With Racketeering, Identity Theft,
And Money Laundering Crimes
Armenian “Vor” Charged With Protecting Alleged
Medicare Fraud Scheme
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, EDWARD TARVER, the United States
Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, JANICE K.
FEDARCYK, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), RAYMOND W. KELLY,
the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), JAMES
T. HAYES, JR., the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office
of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and THOMAS
O’DONNELL, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office of
the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services
(“HHS”), announced today the unsealing of charges, in two
separate indictments, against 44 alleged members and associates
of an Armenian-American organized crime enterprise, for a range
of offenses including the operation of at least 118 medical
clinics located in 25 states that submitted over $100 million in
bogus claims to Medicare. The alleged $100 million Medicare
fraud scheme identified today is the largest, single Medicare
fraud ever charged.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: “In terms
of profitability, geographic scope, and sheer ambition, the
elaborate health care scam we charge today highlights the
emerging and serious threat of international organized crime.
With 118 phantom clinics and over $100 million in bogus billings,
this group of international gangsters allegedly ran a veritable
fraud franchise. As charged, they stole taxpayer dollars
earmarked for the elderly and infirm and got away with it, until
now. Today’s indictments send a strong message to these groups
that we will use every tool and resource at our disposal to stop
them in their tracks.”
EDWARD TARVER, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of Georgia, said: “Today’s arrests illustrate that
health care fraud is a national problem and that a national
response from law enforcement is necessary. The charges
announced today also provide additional evidence of the efforts
by international organized crime to defraud the Medicare system.
The Department of Justice will pursue health care fraudsters of
all types around the country, in order to bring them to justice.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge JANICE K. FEDARCYK
said: “The diabolical beauty of the Medicare fraud scheme – from
the criminals’ standpoint – was that it was completely notional.
There were no real medical clinics behind the fraudulent
billings, just stolen doctors’ identities. There were no
colluding patients signing in at clinics for unneeded treatments,
just stolen patient identities. The whole doctor-patient
interaction was a mirage. But the money was real, while it
lasted.”
NYPD Commissioner RAYMOND W. KELLY said: “Thousands of
patient identities were stolen and manipulated to generate
millions of dollars in bogus Medicare claims. From Coney Island
to California, these suspects bilked the health care system for
procedures never performed or needed, but as a result of this
investigation police and federal authorities have handed these
suspects a true prescription for justice.”
HHS Special Agent-in-Charge THOMAS O’DONNELL said:
“Organized crime within the healthcare system coupled with
identity theft is a growing concern for law enforcement agencies
across the country. But today’s operation is yet another example
of the effective collaboration between OIG and the FBI in
arresting those individuals who blatantly defraud the Medicare
system.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge JAMES T. HAYES, JR., said:
“Today’s charges and arrests represent HSI’s continuing
commitment to vigorously investigating fraud in government health
care programs. HSI will continue to work closely with our State
and Federal law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of
this social program and bring to justice this international
criminal enterprise which, in this case, sought to game the
system for their profit.”
In connection with the indictments unsealed today in
the Southern District of New York, 41 defendants have been
arrested in, among other places, New York and Los Angeles. The
defendants taken into custody today in the New York area are
expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court later this
afternoon. The defendants arrested in the Los Angeles area will
be presented in Los Angeles federal court today. Four defendants
are fugitives and are still being sought. Additional indictments
were unsealed today in related cases by the U.S. Attorney’s
Offices in Los Angeles, Cleveland, Albuquerque, and Savannah.
Among the defendants charged with racketeering in the
Southern District of New York is ARMEN KAZARIAN, a/k/a “Pzo,”
a/k/a “Qerop,” who is alleged to be a “Vor,” a term translated as
“Thief-in-Law.” The term “Vor” refers to a member of a select
group of high-level criminals from Russia and the countries that
had been part of the former Soviet Union, including Armenia.
KAZARIAN was arrested in the Los Angeles area earlier this
morning. This is the first time a Vor has ever been charged and
arrested for federal racketeering crimes.
The Indictments (the “Racketeering Indictment” and the
“Chervin Indictment”) unsealed today in Manhattan federal court,
are described in greater detail below.
The Racketeering Organization
The Racketeering Indictment charges 28 defendants —
including KAZARIAN, the alleged Vor –- with crimes connected to
the operation of an Armenian-American organized crime ring
referred to as the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization. The
Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization is alleged to be a nationwide
criminal enterprise with strong ties to Armenia. The leadership
of the organization is based in New York and Los Angeles, and its
operations extend throughout the United States and
internationally.
The organization is alleged to have operated with
assistance from and under the protection of KAZARIAN, and its
members and associates are charged with numerous crimes,
including racketeering, health care fraud, identity theft, money
laundering, and bank fraud. Members and associates of the
organization are alleged to have used violence and threats of
violence to ensure respect for and payments to its leadership.
For example, one of the organization’s alleged leaders, ROBERT
TERDJANIAN, is accused of having threatened to “disembowel” a
criminal associate who owed him money. ARMEN KAZARIAN also is
alleged to have discussed killing an associate who failed to show
proper respect.
The Medicare Fraud Scheme
The Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization is charged with
engaging in numerous fraud schemes including a massive, highlyorganized
scheme to defraud Medicare. According to the
Racketeering Indictment, the organization stole the identities of
legitimate doctors and filed applications to bill Medicare in the
names of these doctors, often providing a clinic address on the
application that was in fact simply the location of a mailbox.
The organization then obtained the stolen identities of thousands
of real Medicare beneficiaries, including the identities of
approximately 2,900 Medicare patients treated at the Orange
Regional Medical Center.
With the stolen identities of doctors and patients in
hand, the organization billed Medicare for over $100 million
dollars for treatments no doctor ever performed, and no patient
ever received. For example:
• Forensic pathologists billed for live office
visits;
• Eye doctors billed for bladder tests;
• Ear, nose, and throat specialists billed for
performing pregnancy ultrasounds; and
• Obstetricians tested for skin allergies.
Although Medicare identified and shut down the phony clinics
after several months, in many cases Medicare had already paid out
millions of dollars -– more than $35 million in total –- and that
money had already been withdrawn by the defendants and sometimes
transferred overseas. The organization, aware that each clinic
had a limited shelf life, then simply turned to another
fraudulent clinic, operating at least 118 different phony clinics
in 25 states during the course of the scheme.
The Multimillion-Dollar Private Insurance Fraud Scheme
Members of the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization also
operated a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud insurance
companies in the New York area by submitting millions of dollars
in claims for medically unnecessary treatments. According to a
second indictment, the Chervin Indictment, at least two members
of the organization carried out a wide-spread and sophisticated
fraud for at least a decade. Specifically, the schemers bribed a
hospital employee to steal the names of patients for the
schemers. The organizers then recruited these patients,
sometimes by posing as a hospital referral service charged with
helping accident victims.
In some cases, the defendants allegedly staged auto
accidents to generate fake patients who would then undergo
unnecessary and expensive treatments that would be billed and
reimbursed. Patients were provided medical treatment, including
painful nerve-conduction examinations, without reference to their
actual medical need. After insurance companies paid for these
unnecessary medical costs, the fraud proceeds were laundered
through multiple accounts, including the escrow account belonging
to an attorney. An attorney, as well as several doctors, were
among the 18 individuals charged and arrested in connection with
this scheme.
U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA thanked the FBI, NYPD, HSI,
and HHS for their work in the investigation, which he noted is
ongoing. Mr. BHARARA also thanked the National Insurance Crime
Bureau for their assistance in the investigation, as well as the
U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Los Angeles, Cleveland, Albuquerque,
Savannah, and Little Rock.
The Racketeering Indictment is being prosecuted by the
Office’s Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys ARLO
DEVLIN-BROWN and JENNIFER BURNS of the Organized Crime Unit, and
BENJAMIN ALLEE of the White Plains Division are in charge of the
prosecution. The Chervin Indictment is being prosecuted by the
Office’s Complex Fraud Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys WILLIAM
HARRINGTON and REBECCA ROHR are in charge of the prosecution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney ALVIN BRAGG also assisted the
investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys KAN MIN NAWADAY and
MICHAEL LOCKARD of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Unit are
responsible for the forfeiture in both cases.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely
accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and
until proven guilty.
10-322 ###
Defendants in U.S. v. Armen Kazarian, et al.
Defendant DOB Residence
ARMEN KAZARIAN 4/26/1964 Glendale, CA
DAVIT MIRZOYAN 10/25/1975 Glendale, CA
ROBERT TERDJANIAN 11/14/1974 Brooklyn, NY
ALEKSANDR AVETISYAN 2/23/1958 Sun Valley, CA
HERAYER BAGHOUMIAN 1/1/1956 Burbank, CA
POGOS SATAMYAN 12/3/1978 Glendale, CA
ARTUR YEPISKOPOSYAN 2/13/1979 Burbank, CA
VAGAN STEPANIAN 10/31/1957 Brooklyn, NY
VARUJAN AMROYAN 9/16/1960 Brooklyn, NY
JACOB POGOSIAN 9/11/1975 La Crescenta, CA
KAREN SIMONIAN 6/19/1977 Glendale, CA
VARTAN BOYZADZHYAN 7/29/1972 Glendale, CA
ARTUR MANASARIAN 9/15/1962 Valley Village, CA
GOURGEN MIRIMANIAN 3/16/1964 Glendale, CA
MANUK MURADAKHANYAN 3/16/1974 Sherman Oaks, CA
LIANA SOGHOYAN 6/23/1970 Sherman Oaks, CA
TIKRAN TAKVORYAN 4/23/1966 Pasadena, CA
GAYANE KHATCHATURYAN 4/6/1974 N. Hollywood, CA
GAGIK KYURKCHYAN 10/7/1972 Valley Village, CA
ANNA ZAICHIK 2/28/1956 Brooklyn, NY
KAREN AHARONIAN 5/29/1977 Tarzana, CA
ARMEN GRIGORIAN 1016/1970 Glendale, CA
KAREN MARKOSIAN 3/5/1973 Burbank, CA
ANNA TERMARTIROSYAN 7/5/1975 Glendale, CA
MICHAEL DOBRUSHIN 2/22/1957 Brooklyn, NY
SAMVEL HAKOPYAN 10/24/1974 N. Hollywood, CA
RAFIK TERDJANIAN 3/6/1940 Brooklyn, NY
Ct Charge Defendants Maximum Penalties
1 Racketeering
Conspiracy
Armen Kazarian
Davit Mirzoyan
Robert Terdjanian
Aleksandr Avetisyan
Herayer Baghoumian
Pogos Satamyan
Artur Yepiskoposyan
Vagan Stepanian
Varujan Amroyan
Jacob Pogosian
Karen Simonian
Vartan Boyadzhyan
Artur Manasarian
Gourgen Mirimanian
Manuk Muradakhanyan
Liana Soghoyan
Tikran Takvoryan
Gayane Khatchaturyan
Gagik Kyurchyan
Anna Zaichik
Aron Chervin
Karen Aharonian
Life imprisonment;
fine of $250,000, or
twice the pecuniary
loss or gain; 3 years
of supervised release;
$100 mandatory special
assessment.
2 Conspiracy
to Commit
Health Care
Fraud
Armen Kazarian
Davit Mirzoyan
Robert Terdjanian
Aleksandr Avetisyan
Herayer Baghoumian
Pogos Satamyan
Artur Yepiskoposyan
Jacob Pogosian
Karen Simonian
Vartan Boyadzhyan
Gourgen Mirimanian
Manuk Muradakhanyan
Liana Soghoyan
Tikran Takvoryan
Gayane Khatchaturyan
Gagik Kyurchyan
Anna Zaichik
10 years in prison;
fine of $250,000, or
twice the pecuniary
loss or gain; 3 years
of supervised release;
$100 mandatory special
assessment.
3 Conspiracy
to Commit
Bank Fraud
Davit Mirzoyan
Robert Terdjanian
Artur Yepiskoposyan
Vartan Boyadzhyan
Gourgen Mirimanian
Anna Zaichik
Arman Grigorian
Anna Termartirosyan
Rafik Terjanian
30 years in prison; a
fine of $1,000,000, or
twice the gross
pecuniary gain or
loss; five years of
supervised release;
$100 mandatory special
assessment.
4 Conspiracy
to Commit
Money
Laundering
Davit Mirzoyan
Robert Terdjanian
Herayer Baghoumian
Pogos Satamyan
Artur Yepiskoposyan
Jacob Pogosian
Karen Simonian
Manuk Muradakhanyan
Arman Grigorian
Karen Markosian
Anna Termartirosyan
Rafik Terjanian
Twenty years in
prison; fine of
$500,000, or twice the
pecuniary loss or
gain; 3 years of
supervised release;
$100 mandatory special
assessment.
5 Conspiracy
to Commit
Fraud in
Connection
with
Identity
Theft
Davit Mirzoyan
Robert Terdjanian
Herayer Baghoumian
Pogos Satamyan
Artur Yepiskoposyan
Liana Soghoyan
Tikran Takvoryan
Gayane Khatchaturyan
Anna Zaichik
Five years in prison;
a fine of $250,000, or
twice the pecuniary
loss or gain; 3 years
of supervised release;
$100 mandatory special
assessment.
6 Conspiracy
to Commit
Credit Card
Fraud
Davit Mirzoyan
Robert Terdjanian
Aleksandr Avetisyan
Vagan Stepanian
Varujan Amroyan
Karen Aharonian
Samvel Hakopyan
10 years in prison; a
fine of $250,000, or
twice the pecuniary
loss or gain; 3 years
of supervised release;
$100 mandatory special
assessment.
7 Conspiracy
to Commit
Immigration
Fraud
Robert Terdjanian
Vagan Stepanian
Michael Dobrushin
Five years in prison;
a fine of $250,000, or
twice the pecuniary
loss or gain; 3 years
of supervised release;
Defendants in U.S. v. Aron Chervin, et al.
Defendant DOB Residence
ARON CHERVIN 07/18/1947 North Brunscwick, NY
ROBERT TERDJANIAN 11/14/1974 Brooklyn, NY
VYACHESLAV DOBRER 03/22/1960 Dingman’s Ferry, PA
HAROLD PINA 02/08/1969 Valley Stream, NY
ROSS KUFLIK 01/19/1958 DelRay Beach, FL
MICHAEL LAMOND 04/21/1970 Long Island City, NY
VADIM CHERVIN 03/22/1960 North Brunswick, NY
GALINA VOVK 03/19/1976 Brooklyn, NY
VALIANTSINA LAHUN 09/04/1965 Brooklyn, NY
LYNN BRAUNSTEIN 10/17/1961 Belle Harbor, NY
WILLIAM GIBBS
YURI ZELINSKY 06/17/1948 Brooklyn, NY
LUBA GODIN 08/01/1978 Brooklyn, NY
JUDSON DARIO JUST 05/03/1962 Brooklyn, NY
BEAGY FRANCOIS 11/16/1955 Dacula, GA
NATAN PEYSAKOV 01/30/1970 Brooklyn, NY
MARTA ROMAN 08/11/1970 Merrick, NY
MILANA NIKHMAN 12/23/1957 Staten Island, NY
Ct Charge Defendants Maximum Penalties
1 Conspiracy
to Commit
Mail Fraud
and Health
Care Fraud
ARON CHERVIN
ROBERT TERDJANIAN
VYACHESLAV DOBRER
HAROLD PINA
ROSS KUFLIK
MICHAEL LAMOND
VADIM CHERVIN
GALINA VOVK
VALIANTSINA LAHUN
LYNN BRAUNSTEIN
WILLIAM GIBBS
YURI ZELINSKY
LUBA GODIN
JUDSON DARIO JUST
BEAGY FRANCOIS
NATAN PEYSAKOV
MILANA NIKHMAN
20 years in prison; 3
years of supervised
release; fine of
$250,000, or twice the
pecuniary loss or gain;
$100 mandatory special
assessment; forfeiture;
restitution
2 Conspiracy
to Sell
Protected
Medical
Information
ARON CHERVIN
MARTA ROMAN
BEAGY FRANCOIS
5 years in prison; 3
years of supervised
release; $250,000, or
twice the pecuniary
loss or gain; $100
mandatory special
assessment
3 Conspiracy
to Launder
Money
ARON CHERVIN
ROBERT TERDJANIAN
VYACHESLAV DOBRER
MICHAEL LAMOND
GALINA VOVK
LUBA GODIN
WILLIAM GIBBS
20 years in prison; 3
years of supervised
release; fine of
500,000, or twice the
pecuniary loss or gain;
$100 mandatory special
assessment; forfeiture
