Armenian mafia leader arrested over involvement in a $163M Medicare scam in US

US federal agents and local police have recently carried out major raids in New York City and in Los Angeles to round up suspects connected to the biggest Medicare scheme in American history from a single organization, reports Kob.com.

That criminal enterprise is an Armenian-American organized crime group based in those two cities. More than 70 people are connected to the ring, and agents say seven of those suspects were operating in Albuquerque.

Among those arrested is also Armenian national Armen Ghazaryan (nicknamed as Pzo), who is believed to be the head of the organized gang. Currently Mr Ghazaryan is under arrest in Los Angeles.

As of Wednesday night, those seven suspects are still on the run.

At Heatsource Stoves & Grills near Eubank and Indian School Road NE, owner Cyd Ault learned recently that the business next door was connected to the Medicare scheme.

New Mexico US Attorney Kenneth Gonzales said Rio Bravo Medical Supply was actually a dummy corporation where seven Eastern-Europeans were using the stolen identifications of doctors and Medicare beneficiaries to file Medicare claims.

Ault says she and her husband knew the group looked suspicious. "We just thought it was an odd case, they never had any customers, they sat outside of their van smoking cigarettes all day long," she said. "I also found a lot of stuff in the dumpster that they just pitched--wheelchairs, walkers, all kinds of stuff--that looked very useable that they just threw away."

According to Gonzales, the group filed more than $2.1 million in claims all together and received close to $850,000.

The seven suspects are being linked to an organized crime enterprise that stretches across five states. So far, 73 suspects have been indicted, 53 have been arrested, and the seven New Mexican suspects are still on the run.

"We're hopeful that we can actually locate them, but that's going to take some time and a lot more effort," says Gonzales.
The seven suspects face a long list of charges including identity theft, healthcare fraud, and money laundering.