BRUNSWICK, Ga. – A 46-year-old Armenian national pleaded guilty Tuesday to his role in a conspiracy launder of about $1.5 million in funds defrauded from Medicare through a phony medical business in Brunswick.
Avetik Moskovian, who lived in Los Angeles until the time of his arrest and was here in the United States on a permanent residence card from Armenia, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.
Recommended Videos
According to the evidence presented at his guilty plea hearing, from 2007 through 2008, various conspirators defrauded Medicare through a durable medical equipment company in Brunswick known as Brunswick Medical Supply. These conspirators submitted millions of dollars in phony claims for health care services that were never provided. The evidence showed that the conspirators stole the identities for doctors and patients from multiple different states, including Alaska, California, New York, and Ohio, and even submitted claims for people that were deceased at the time that he claimed to have provided them the medical equipment.
Once Medicare paid for these phony claims, Moskovian and others took numerous steps to launder the stolen money. Moskovian helped form at least four sham businesses in Los Angeles, opened multiple bank accounts in the names of these businesses, and used these bank accounts to launder the proceeds of the fraud at Brunswick Medical Supply.
Moskovian engaged in multiple financial transactions within these accounts, including wire transfers and counter withdrawals of tens of thousands of dollars in cash, as part of his effort to help hide the money defrauded from Medicare.
Moskovian now faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine up to $500,000, and five years of supervised release. His sentencing will be scheduled after the United States Probation Office completes a presentence investigation.