YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–The United States will seek Armenia’s assistance should it need such in its current investigation of a major medical insurance fraud by an Armenian American syndicate, visiting Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials said on Thursday.
FBI legal attache Kevin Donovan, FBI regional security officer Lance Leveque and legal advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Armenia Steve Kessler met with Armenia’s Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian in Yerevan to “officially give information about the criminal case in the United States over banking and medical insurance fraud in which ethnic Armenians have also been involved,” according to a Prosecutor-General’s Office spokesperson.
Sona Truzian told RFE/RL that during the meeting the Armenian side was informed that “73 persons in the United States have been charged with money laundering, banking and medical insurance fraud and 32 of them were arrested.”
About three dozen members of a crime syndicate charged with filing some $100 million in fake claims to a U.S. government health insurance program, known as Medicare, were arrested by the FBI in the United States last week.
Law-enforcement officials in the United States said among the members of the group there were many immigrants with substantial ties to Armenia.
Truzian said at the request of the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s Office, the visiting FBI representatives promised to specify how many of the charged or arrested people are Armenians and how many of them are citizens of Armenia.
Truzian also categorically denied a number of recent media reports claiming that more than a dozen FBI agents had come to Armenia as part of the current investigation. She quoted the FBI officials as saying that no agent has been or could have been dispatched to Armenia without the Armenian side’s knowledge.
According to a report by the Prosecutor-General’s Office press service, during the meeting the sides discussed “issues of cooperation between the law-enforcement agencies of Armenia and the United States in combating crime.”
Prosecutor-General Hovsepian reportedly assured the FBI delegation of his office’s “willingness to assist in the investigation within its powers should there be such a legal request from U.S. counterparts” and the sides “agreed to exchange information.”
Spokeswoman Truzian said the nature of possible assistance will become clear as the investigation goes on.
She said that during the meeting FBI legal attache Kevin Donovan said the United States will seek Armenia’s assistance, if need be.
But she added that no such request has been made yet.
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Editor’s Note: According to the Department of Justice, among the 73 persons indicted, only 41 are of ethnic Armenian background, while it is unclear yet as to how many are citizens of the Republic of Armenia. Below is a list of all persons indicted in the crime:
- Aron Chervin
- Vyacheslav Dobrer
- Harold Pina
- Ross Kuflik
- Michael Lamond
- Vadim Chervin
- Galina Vovk
- Valiantsina Lahun
- Lynn Braunstein
- William Gibbs
- Yuri Zelinsky
- Luba Godin
- Judson Dario Just
- Beagy Francois
- Natan Peysakov
- Marta Roman
- Milana Nikhman
- Anna Zaichik
- Michael Dobrushin
- Nicolae Candu
- Vitalina Shcherbyak
- Nikolay Agishev
- Igor Ostronin
- Sergei Ivanov
- Artur Nabiyev
- Yvgeny Grinev
- Tatiana Bolshakova
- Grisha Sayadyan
- Allen Sayadyan
- Vachagan Dishchian
- Vahe Dischian
- Andranik Satamyan
- Haroutyoun Dischian
- Armen Kazarian
- Davit Mirzoyan
- Robert Terdjanian
- Aleksandr Avetisyan
- Herayer Baghoumian
- Pogos Satamyan
- Artur Yepiskoposyan
- Vagan Stepanian
- Varujan Amroyan
- Jacob Pogosian
- Karen Simonian
- Vartan Boyzadzhyan
- Artur Manasarian
- Gourgen Mirimanian
- Manuk Muradakhanyan
- Liana Soghoyan
- Tikran Takvoryan
- Gayane Khatchaturyan
- Gagik Kyurkchyan
- Anna Zaichik
- Karen Aharonian
- Armen Grigorian
- Karen Markosian
- Anna Termartirosyan
- Michael Dobrushin
- Samvel Hakopyan
- Rafik Terdjanian
- Karen Chilyan
- Eduard Oganesyan
- Lilit Galstyan
- Gyulbudakyan
- Julieta Ghazaryan
- Marine Movsisyan
- Rita Petrosyan
- Khoren Gasparian
Why would they even bother; the president has immunity from prosecution ;).
Why don’t you tell what you know
Just do not point at people and accuse.
Why is it the American Government allows non legal citizens the right to set up shop and get American taxpayers monies for these Medicare funds?
We should be better at checking the back ground of people when we give them millions of US tax money intended for different programs.
Currently in the USA, Turkish Islamic Imam Fethullah Gulen who was exiled from Turkey for attempting to overthrow a secular government is managing over 100 US Charter Schools. The Gulen Movement has obtained over $1 billion dollars in the last 10 years in American Education monies. Most of it is used to feed into the Gulen network of Foundations and Institutes: Rumi forums, Turkish Friendship, Assembly of Turkic Aemrican Federations in Washington and about 40 other ones that feed on American money to promote Gulen’s Turkey. Along with the free dinners and trips to Turkey for Congress.
America STOP giving our tax dollars to non-Americans, American money for Americans. It is way to easy for the money to be laundered and wired somewhere else in the world.
No wonder America is broke.