5 Arrested in $15 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES—Five San Fernando Valley residents were facing federal criminal charges Saturday related to their alleged roles in a yearslong scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $15 million through sham hospice companies, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. According to an indictment, three of the defendants—Petros Fichidzhyan, 43, of Granada Hills; Juan Carlos Esparza, 32, of Valley Village; and Karpis Srapyan, 34, of Van Nuys—allegedly operated a series of sham hospice companies that were purportedly owned by foreign nationals but were in fact owned by the three. The defendants allegedly used the foreign nationals’ identities to open bank accounts, sign property leases, and, by Mr. Fichidzhyan, make phone calls to Medicare, and submitted false claims to Medicare for hospice services, the DOJ announced June 7....