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ARMENIAN FOUND GUILTY OF MEDICARE CONSPIRACY IN W.VA.
By Zac Taylor
Charleston Gazette
http://wvgazette.com/News/201111030212
Nov 3 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal jury in Charleston found an Armenian
man guilty Thursday of helping to orchestrate a scheme that would
have siphoned off more than $4 million from Medicare.
In U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr.'s courtroom, the jury
found Sargis Tadevosyan guilty of counts of conspiracy to commit
health-care fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Federal prosecutors said during Tadevosyan's trial this week that
the Armenian created decoy health clinics, based in vacant offices
around Charleston, and used them to make thousands of false claims
to Medicare.
Tadevosyan and another man, whom authorities have so far known only as
"Garrick," conscripted two Russian immigrants to assume the identities
of other immigrants who have since moved out of the country. The men
used those identities to apply for bank accounts connected to the
phantom health clinics, prosecutors say.
The Russians, Igor Shevchuk and Arsen Bedzhanyan, each pleaded guilty
to aggravated identity theft and agreed to testify against Tadevosyan
during his trial.
Tadevosyan's lawyers argued during the trial that prosecutors failed to
definitively link Tadevosyan to the crime -- noting that investigators
never observed the Armenian doing anything illegal and never connected
his name to the falsified documents created as part of the scheme.
Prosecutors said Tadevosyan had the keys to the false businesses in
his possession when he was arrested. Tadevosyan also gave Shevchuk
and Bedzhanyan copies of their fake IDs, prosecutors said.
Shevchuk, who along with Bedzhanyan, worked in a bike shop in New York,
testified Tuesday that "Garrick" intimidated him into participating in
the fraud. Bedzhanyan admitted in testimony the day before that he had
given inconsistent statements on Tadevosyan's involvement in the crime.
In April, investigators caught on to the scheme after receiving a
tip from a health-care provider that had flagged Medicare claims from
seven businesses based in Charleston, Dunbar and Nitro.
The claims totaled more than $4 million. The provider froze the
businesses' bank accounts before any payment was processed.
Scott Noulett, an agent with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services and lead investigator on the case, went to the addresses of
each of the listed businesses. They appeared deserted from the outside,
he testified earlier this week.
Investigators later searched the buildings and found nothing but
derelict offices, empty desks and scattered, unopened mail.
Surveillance footage showed the man later identified as "Garrick"
walking around in at least one of the buildings.
Federal agents traced the names and Social Security numbers connected
to the accounts to people no longer living in the country. The creators
of the companies also stole the identities of various doctors around
the country to sign off on the phony Medicare claims, according to
court records.
Authorities arrested Tadevosyan, Shevchuk and Bedzhanyan in May,
after staking out a Dunbar bank where the men were scheduled to make
a change to an account. The arrest was the first time investigators
learned the real names of the suspects involved in the case.
In the back seat of Tadevosyan's Audi, agents found pictures of
Tadevosyan and "Garrick" at a dinner party. Tadevosyan's lawyers argued
that law enforcement used the photos to show "guilt by association."
"That just completes the loop," Special Agent Nick DiGiulio told the
Gazette. "It's just another piece of evidence that helps corroborate
the fact that it's a conspiracy."
Tadevosyan faces up to 20 years in prison on the conviction. His
sentencing is scheduled for Jan 26.
"Millions of our citizens rely on Medicare for life-saving medical
care," U.S. Attorney R. Booth Goodwin said in a news release. "This
case illustrates the lengths to which criminals -- from both inside
and outside our country -- will go to steal from Medicare."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Zac Taylor
Charleston Gazette
http://wvgazette.com/News/201111030212
Nov 3 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal jury in Charleston found an Armenian
man guilty Thursday of helping to orchestrate a scheme that would
have siphoned off more than $4 million from Medicare.
In U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr.'s courtroom, the jury
found Sargis Tadevosyan guilty of counts of conspiracy to commit
health-care fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Federal prosecutors said during Tadevosyan's trial this week that
the Armenian created decoy health clinics, based in vacant offices
around Charleston, and used them to make thousands of false claims
to Medicare.
Tadevosyan and another man, whom authorities have so far known only as
"Garrick," conscripted two Russian immigrants to assume the identities
of other immigrants who have since moved out of the country. The men
used those identities to apply for bank accounts connected to the
phantom health clinics, prosecutors say.
The Russians, Igor Shevchuk and Arsen Bedzhanyan, each pleaded guilty
to aggravated identity theft and agreed to testify against Tadevosyan
during his trial.
Tadevosyan's lawyers argued during the trial that prosecutors failed to
definitively link Tadevosyan to the crime -- noting that investigators
never observed the Armenian doing anything illegal and never connected
his name to the falsified documents created as part of the scheme.
Prosecutors said Tadevosyan had the keys to the false businesses in
his possession when he was arrested. Tadevosyan also gave Shevchuk
and Bedzhanyan copies of their fake IDs, prosecutors said.
Shevchuk, who along with Bedzhanyan, worked in a bike shop in New York,
testified Tuesday that "Garrick" intimidated him into participating in
the fraud. Bedzhanyan admitted in testimony the day before that he had
given inconsistent statements on Tadevosyan's involvement in the crime.
In April, investigators caught on to the scheme after receiving a
tip from a health-care provider that had flagged Medicare claims from
seven businesses based in Charleston, Dunbar and Nitro.
The claims totaled more than $4 million. The provider froze the
businesses' bank accounts before any payment was processed.
Scott Noulett, an agent with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services and lead investigator on the case, went to the addresses of
each of the listed businesses. They appeared deserted from the outside,
he testified earlier this week.
Investigators later searched the buildings and found nothing but
derelict offices, empty desks and scattered, unopened mail.
Surveillance footage showed the man later identified as "Garrick"
walking around in at least one of the buildings.
Federal agents traced the names and Social Security numbers connected
to the accounts to people no longer living in the country. The creators
of the companies also stole the identities of various doctors around
the country to sign off on the phony Medicare claims, according to
court records.
Authorities arrested Tadevosyan, Shevchuk and Bedzhanyan in May,
after staking out a Dunbar bank where the men were scheduled to make
a change to an account. The arrest was the first time investigators
learned the real names of the suspects involved in the case.
In the back seat of Tadevosyan's Audi, agents found pictures of
Tadevosyan and "Garrick" at a dinner party. Tadevosyan's lawyers argued
that law enforcement used the photos to show "guilt by association."
"That just completes the loop," Special Agent Nick DiGiulio told the
Gazette. "It's just another piece of evidence that helps corroborate
the fact that it's a conspiracy."
Tadevosyan faces up to 20 years in prison on the conviction. His
sentencing is scheduled for Jan 26.
"Millions of our citizens rely on Medicare for life-saving medical
care," U.S. Attorney R. Booth Goodwin said in a news release. "This
case illustrates the lengths to which criminals -- from both inside
and outside our country -- will go to steal from Medicare."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress