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.
