Man Guilty of $17 Million Medicare Hospice Fraud and Home Health Care Fraud Schemes

A California man admitted guilt today to charges of healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. His crimes were tied to a multi-year scheme that defrauded Medicare of over $17 million using fake hospice companies and his home healthcare business.

Fichidzhyan, along with his co-conspirators, stole the identities of foreign nationals to pose as the owners of fake hospice companies. They used these stolen identities to open bank accounts, sign property leases, and submit false claims to Medicare for hospice services that were neither necessary nor provided.

To support these fraudulent claims, Fichidzhyan and his partners also misused doctors’ identities, falsely stating that the doctors had certified the need for hospice care. In reality, the supposed patients were not terminally ill and had never requested or received services from the fake hospices.

As a result of the scheme, Medicare paid the hospices nearly $16 million.

Of that amount, Fichidzhyan personally received almost $7 million, including over $5.3 million laundered through his personal and business bank accounts and funneled into various shell and third-party accounts.

Fichidzhyan also admitted to fraudulently obtaining more than $1 million for his home healthcare agency by using a doctor’s name and identity to certify Medicare beneficiaries falsely.

Officials stated that he later tried to cover up the scheme by paying the doctor $11,000.

Fichidzhyan pleaded guilty to charges of healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.

His sentencing is set for April 14.

He faces a mandatory two-year prison sentence for identity theft, up to 10 years for healthcare fraud, and up to 20 years for money laundering. 

This guilty plea is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing crackdown on hospice fraud in the Los Angeles area.

Last year, a doctor was convicted for billing Medicare for unnecessary hospice services, and two other defendants received prison sentences for their involvement in similar schemes.