LOS ANGELES
A Burbank blood-test lab owner has pleaded guilty to evading more than $11.2 million in federal taxes, defrauding Medicare, and illegally pocketing nearly $100,000 in COVID relief funds.
Armen Muradyan, 60, admitted to running Genex Laboratories through a front man because Medicare had banned him from submitting claims. He paid his friend $2,000 a month to pose as the lab’s owner while he controlled the accounts and siphoned millions in reimbursements for himself.
He faces up to 20 years in federal prison when sentenced on Dec. 11, officials stated.
From 2015 to 2020, Muradyan reported only $40,000 in annual income, while hiding nearly $24 million in taxable earnings. He also failed to file returns for 2021 through 2023.
Muradyan further admitted to lying on a federal COVID loan application, claiming a nonexistent company employed workers and made $800,000 in 2019. He used the $99,900 loan for personal expenses, according to officials.