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Two More Sentenced in $16 Million California Hospice Fraud Case

Prosecutors say the sham hospices used foreign nationals’ identities to hide ownership, laundering proceeds through shell accounts.

Overview

  • Juan Carlos Esparza received 57 months in prison and was ordered to pay $1,825,012 in restitution, while Susanna Harutyunyan received 15 months and was ordered to pay $2,822,963.
  • Earlier sentences included Karpis Srapyan and Mihran Panosyan at 57 months each with $3,203,574 and $4,680,146 in restitution, and ringleader Petros Fichidzhyan at 12 years with $17,129,060.
  • From July 2019 to January 2023, the group ran four sham hospices, including House of Angels Hospice, billing for services that were medically unnecessary or never provided.
  • Medicare paid the fraudulent hospices nearly $16 million during the scheme.
  • The court preliminarily ordered forfeiture of two homes tied to the proceeds and the government seized $2,920,383, with FBI and HHS-OIG leading the investigation under DOJ oversight.