The Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia issued a statement in connection with the arrest of a gang, mostly composed of Armenian citizens, in the United States.

“The Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia has not received any official information or requests for legal assistance from U.S. law-enforcers in connection with the arrest of Armenian citizens on suspicion of crimes. The Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia was informed of the case due to mass media reports,” said Sona Truzyan, Press Secretary of the RA Prosecutor General.

She pointed out that the RA Prosecutor General’s Office is ready to cooperate with U.S. law-enforcers in case it receives a request for legal assistance.  

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 largest fraud by one criminal enterprise in the program’s history, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.

The operation was under the protection of an 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.

The RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, expressing its regret over the involvement of Armenian citizens in the crimes in the U.S. social security system.