A Burbank blood-testing laboratory proprietor who used Medicare reimbursement cash to assist a playing behavior, pay private bills and evade hundreds of thousands in taxes has been sentenced to greater than 4 years in federal jail.
Armen Muradyan, 60, from California, was ordered to serve 51 months behind bars by U.S. District Choose John A. Kronstadt. The court docket additionally directed him to pay $15.16 million in restitution.
Muradyan pleaded guilty in August 2025 to conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion. Federal prosecutors stated his conduct concerned a long-running effort to hide his position in a laboratory enterprise, acquire Medicare funds and conceal earnings from tax authorities.
Court docket hears how Burbank laboratory proprietor devised scheme to fund playing behavior
In response to court docket information, Muradyan owned and operated Genex Laboratories Inc., a blood-testing laboratory in Burbank. After Medicare barred him from submitting claims, prosecutors stated he organized for a longtime buddy recognized as “L.S.” in court docket paperwork to look as the corporate’s proprietor.
Authorities said the transfer allowed Medicare reimbursement funds to maintain flowing whereas masking Muradyan’s involvement. Court docket information present that Medicare deposited greater than $23 million into financial institution accounts opened in L.S.’s identify however managed by Muradyan.
Prosecutors stated Muradyan agreed to pay L.S. $2,000 every month in trade for serving because the laboratory’s proprietor on paper. He allegedly instructed his buddy that Medicare enrollment paperwork needed to be filed underneath L.S.’s identify as a result of Muradyan was prohibited from submitting claims himself.
Though L.S. was listed because the proprietor, investigators stated he didn’t really run the corporate. As an alternative, he reportedly got here to the Burbank workplace to gather month-to-month funds and sometimes signed paperwork at Muradyan’s path whereas Muradyan remained accountable for the enterprise.
Federal prosecutors stated Muradyan spent proceeds from the fraud scheme on private obligations, together with mortgage funds, playing and different bills.
The federal government additionally stated the association supported a tax evasion scheme that lasted from 2015 by means of 2023. Throughout that interval, Muradyan instructed L.S. to report Genex monetary exercise on private tax returns utilizing summaries that falsely urged the corporate earned little revenue or operated at a loss.
This was then offered to L.S.’s tax preparer, who ready returns utilizing the knowledge equipped by Muradyan, in accordance with prosecutors.
Authorities additionally stated Muradyan filed private tax returns that omitted Genex monetary exercise and reported common annual earnings of about $40,000 regardless of receiving and spending hundreds of thousands generated by the laboratory. He additionally did not file tax returns from 2021 by means of 2023.
Prosecutors stated he hid roughly $23.9 million in taxable earnings, leading to greater than $11.2 million in unpaid federal taxes. Court docket information additional state that California suffered about $2.7 million in tax losses.
The case additionally included a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan application submitted in July 2020 on behalf of an entity referred to as GenMed. Prosecutors stated Muradyan falsely claimed the enterprise had staff and generated $800,000 in income throughout 2019. The Small Enterprise Administration authorised a $99,900 mortgage, and authorities stated the cash was later spent on private bills not allowed underneath this system.
IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI and the Division of Well being and Human Companies Workplace of Inspector Basic investigated the case. Prosecutors from the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace and the Division of Justice dealt with the prosecution.
Featured picture: Canva
