A California resident has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and three years of supervised release for defrauding Medicare of over $17 million through fraudulent hospice companies and a home health care business. Petros Fichidzhyan, 44, from Granada Hills, was involved in billing Medicare for non-essential hospice services that were never provided.
Court documents reveal that Fichidzhyan and accomplices managed hospice entities using foreign nationals' personal information to hide the fraud. This included opening bank accounts, submitting details to Medicare, and signing property leases. They also used the identities of several doctors, including two deceased individuals, to falsely bill Medicare for hospice services. Medicare disbursed nearly $16 million to these sham hospices, with Fichidzhyan receiving almost $7 million. More than $5.3 million was laundered through various shell companies and third-party accounts. Additionally, he received over $1 million from false claims through his home health care agency by misusing a doctor's identity.
In February 2025, Fichidzhyan pleaded guilty to charges of health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. He was ordered to pay restitution amounting to $17,129,060 and faces forfeiture of a home purchased with fraudulent funds. Authorities have seized $2,920,383 from related bank accounts as part of the Justice Department's efforts against hospice fraud in Los Angeles.
Matthew R. Galeotti from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division commented on the case: “For years, the defendant... ran multiple sham hospice and home health care schemes... The defendant’s egregious scheme relied on layers of deception and sophisticated money laundering.”
Omar Pérez Aybar from HHS-OIG stated: “Health care fraud is not a victimless crime... it causes significant harm to enrollees.”
Akil Davis from the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office remarked: "Mr. Fichidzhyan lined his pockets at the expense of the American taxpayer."
The FBI and HHS-OIG are investigating this case further.
Trial Attorneys Eric C. Schmale and Sarah E. Edwards are prosecuting under the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program aimed at combating such frauds since March 2007.
More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.