As VMedia has previously detailed in its documentaries, Armenian criminal groups repeatedly employ the same method—billing for non-existent services, and setting up fake clinics and fictitious doctors. And each time, as the facts show, American taxpayers end up defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars. The victims are often the most vulnerable members of society—the elderly and hospice patients.
In 2010, during his press conference in New York, US Attorney Preet Bharara stated that Armenian organised crime in the United States had surpassed the Italian mafia. His comments followed the arrest of dozens of members of a criminal syndicate, the core of which consisted of Armenian-Americans or citizens of Armenia. They were charged with orchestrating the largest fraud scheme in the history of the federal Medicare programme. The criminals had opened 118 fake medical clinics across 25 US states, causing over $100 million in losses.
In 2023, charges were filed in California against 44-year-old Stepan Gevorkyan, who, despite lacking medical education and a licence, had been practising medicine for several years at his clinic, Pathways Medical, in North Hollywood, CA. The fake doctor saw thousands of patients suffering from viral infections, cancer, depression, and anaemia. He was caught following a visit from an undercover patient, whose abnormally high hormone levels he failed to detect.
In November 2025, four Californians were sentenced to prison for their involvement in a $16 million hospice fraud scheme. Among them were Susanna Harutyunyan, Karpis Srapyan, Migran Panosyan, and Petros Fichijian.
In late January 2026, Dr. Mehmet Öz, appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), stated that a fraud scheme run by “Russian and Armenian gangs” had turned the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles into a boarded-up hospice centre for healthcare corruption.
The alleged fraud involves losses totalling $3.5 billion. The perpetrators are said to have:
• Billed for services that were never provided.
• Enrolled patients who were not eligible for hospice care.
• Registered multiple hospices at the same address.
• Received kickbacks for patient referrals.
As a result, Van Nuys accounted for roughly 18% of all Medicare billing for home health and hospice services nationwide. Dr. Öz noted, “This four-block area of Los Angeles is home to 42 hospices. Either a lot of people are dying here, or there is a highly profitable fraudulent activity.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the situation as an “epidemic.” However, the office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has positioned himself as one of Trump’s key opponents, accused Dr. Oz of “ethnic profiling” against the Armenian community and of political “cosplaying”.
“Our office is reviewing reports that Dr. Mehmet Oz targeted the Armenian American community in Southern California recently… Given the historic sensitivities involved, we are taking these allegations seriously,” the Governor’s press office stated.
It is worth recalling that ethnic profiling involves home raids, questioning, or detaining individuals based solely on their appearance or ethnic background and is considered a violation of civil rights, including the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
Dr. Oz pointed to specific addresses as evidence of “license flipping” and “shell companies,” where multiple businesses featured signs in Armenian. Examples included the “Cilicia” art studio and the “Tigranakert” lavash bakery.
Unsurprisingly, Governor Newsom stood up to defend the Armenian community, which, given its size, holds significant electoral weight in California.
And, naturally, Armenians in California expressed their discontent. Dr. Oz’s words were labelled “dehumanizing rhetoric that unfairly stigmatizes a long-standing and law-abiding community in Southern California,” which “risk fostering discrimination, bias, and distrust toward Armenian Americans at a time when underserved communities already face societal challenges.”
Well, firstly, the Armenian community in California can hardly be described as “underserved.” Secondly, its members have been implicated in fraudulent activities—particularly within the US healthcare system—on more than one occasion. Though, of course, their alleged activities are not limited to this.
The issue has reached a point where the Armenian mafia has begun appearing in American crime dramas. For example, in the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer, characters linked to Armenian organised crime in California feature prominently in the plot. These groups are depicted as being involved in various illegal activities: financial fraud, underground businesses, police corruption, and extortion.
CBS News recently conducted its own investigation into what is happening in California with hospice care. After analyzing records for every hospice operating in Los Angeles County, journalists found that indications of fraud are growing. It is noteworthy that the article mentions the Van Nuys district, but does not say a word about Armenian gangs.
Meanwhile, according to US media, Republicans in the House of Representatives are intensifying federal oversight, aiming to uncover how transnational criminal organizations are infiltrating the Medicare system. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this investigation. CBS News also notes that California is confronting this problem as Gavin Newsom, its Democratic governor, eyes a potential presidential run. Fraud in public services has become a thorny political issue.
