California Woman Receives 3-Year Prison Sentence for $14 Million Medicare Fraud

Los Angeles Woman Sentenced for Medicare Fraud

A woman from Los Angeles, California, received a nearly three-year prison sentence on Tuesday for her involvement in a $14 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Sofia Shakrian, a Los Angeles resident, was given a 35-month federal prison term after being found guilty of defrauding Medicare by submitting false claims for hospice care and diagnostic testing services that were either unnecessary or never actually provided. This was reported by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Following her guilty plea in November to a single count of health care fraud, she was also ordered to pay over $14 million in restitution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that from March 2019 to August 2024, Shakrian and her accomplices often adopted fake identities and used multiple fraudulent hospice and diagnostic test providers enrolled in Medicare to submit these phony claims on behalf of her companies.

They exploited the information of Medicare beneficiaries to intentionally file fraudulent claims. The beneficiaries had no need for these services, had never received them, and were completely unaware of the fictitious hospice and diagnostic test providers involved. According to the Department of Justice, this scheme was aimed at defrauding Medicare to gain reimbursement for services that were billed to non-existent providers.

In her plea agreement, Shakrian acknowledged that she and her co-conspirators submitted these fraudulent claims via fake providers. She was aware of the billing process and understood how much Medicare reimbursed fraudulent providers based on the types of claims entered, leading to losses exceeding $14 million for Medicare.

The Department of Justice highlighted in a press release that during the course of the scheme, false claims were submitted for non-existent providers.

Co-defendant Alex Alexanian, 48, from Burbank, also known by the names “Sambel” and “Samo,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder financial instruments on January 20. He faces a maximum federal prison sentence of 20 years, with sentencing scheduled for April 28.