A California man has pleaded guilty to charges of health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering in connection with a large-scale scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $17 million. Petros Fichidzhyan, 43, of Granada Hills, admitted to operating a series of sham hospice companies and a home health care agency, submitting fraudulent Medicare claims for services that were neither necessary nor provided.
Court documents reveal that Fichidzhyan and his co-conspirators used the identities of foreign nationals to create fake hospice companies, open bank accounts, and submit false claims to Medicare for services that were never rendered. They also misused doctors’ identities to falsely certify patients for hospice care. The fraudulent claims led to nearly $16 million in payments from Medicare to the sham hospices, with Fichidzhyan personally receiving nearly $7 million.
In addition to his involvement in the hospice fraud scheme, Fichidzhyan also admitted to using a doctor’s identity to fraudulently certify Medicare beneficiaries for home health care, illegally obtaining more than $1 million in the process. He attempted to cover up the scheme by paying the doctor $11,000.
Fichidzhyan faces significant prison time, with a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft, a maximum of 10 years for health care fraud, and up to 20 years for money laundering. His sentencing is scheduled for April 14. The guilty plea marks another success in the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to combat hospice fraud in the Los Angeles area, following recent convictions of other individuals involved in similar schemes.
The case was announced by Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, FBI Los Angeles Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Diane N. Vu of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
