RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan held a meeting October 21 with US Embassy in Armenia Legal Advisor Steve Kessler, Kevin P. Donovan of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Legal Advisor David Khachatryan and Lance Levequeen in charge of regional security.
The press service of the RA prosecutor General’s Office informed NEWS.am that the sides discussed bilateral cooperation in crime control.
Kevin Donovan thanked the RA prosecutor general for information on the Armenian members of the alleged criminal group involved in the medicaid scam in the United States.
The FBI official reported that 73 people have been charged with banking and medical frauds in the U.S. Thirty-two people were arrested on October 13.
Allegedly a vast network of Armenian gangsters and their associates used 18 phantom health care clinics and other means to try to cheat Medicare out of $163 million.
At the RA Prosecutor General’s request, Donovan promised to provide information on the Armenians, particularly Armenian citizens, involved in the crime. He said that the U.S. will, if necessary, apply to the Armenian law-enforcement agencies for assistance in investigation.
The RA Prosecutor General underlined the importance of finding the truth and identifying all the members of the criminal group. Aghvan Hovsepyan assured the FBI delegation of the Armenian prosecutor office’s willingness to assist the investigation within its terms of reference. The sides agreed to exchange information.
NEWS.am reminds readers that a vast network of Armenian gangsters and their associates used phantom health care clinics and other means to try to cheat Medicare out of $163 million.
The operation was under the protection of an alleged Armenian crime boss, Armen Kazarian, nicknamed Pzo, who was among the first arrestees in Los Algeles. Most of the defendants "were Armenian nationals or immigrants and many maintained substantial ties to Armenia" and criminals there.
About 40 of the 73 arrestees are Armenians, including the leaders David Mirzoyan, Robert Tjanyan and others.
Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, declared that the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian organization a syndicate in New York and Los Angeles run by Armenians used threats, intimidation and violence operating in a classical mafia style.
