A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted two Los Angeles County residents on two dozen counts in an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare of $54 million.
Sophia Shaklian, 36, faces 16 counts of healthcare fraud and four counts of transactional money laundering. The Justice Department said the grand jury has indicted her alleged accomplice, 42-year-old Alex Alexsanian, on one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and three counts of concealment of money laundering.
If convicted, Shaklian could spend the next 240 years in federal prison. Alexsanian faces a maximum of 80 years in prison.
According to the indictment, the alleged scheme lasted between March 2019 and August 2024. At the time, Shaklian managed and submitted claims for seven health care providers in LA County, all of whom were enrolled in Medicare. Prosecutors alleged that she often used aliases.
The companies include Pasadena-based Chateau d’Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care, as well as several diagnostic testing companies:
- Saint Gorge Radiology in Sylmar
- Hope Diagnostics in North Hollywood
- Direct Imaging & Diagnostics and Lab One – both based in Hollywood
- Labtech and Lifescan Diagnostics in Claremont
During the roughly five-year period, the companies submitted more than $54 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for services that were never provided or needed. The agency paid out nearly half of the claims and sent more than $23 million to Shaklian. She allegedly laundered the money paid to Chateau by sending it to an account registered in the name of Varsenic Babaian, a false identity.
Prosecutors alleged that Alexanian controlled Saint Gorge Radiology’s accounts after directing a foreign national to open the business while simultaneously acquiring Console Hospice, a Medicare provider in Van Nuys.
Alexanian and the alien, who eventually left the U.S., conspired with others to use the two companies to submit fraudulent Medicare claims, the DOJ said. They allegedly deposited the money into their accounts using Shaklian’s false identity. They allegedly used the money to buy $6 million worth of gold bars, coins and other items.
