After agreeing to assist federal agents in 2002, California physician Tigran Svadjian, MD, informed authorities he had to travel to Russia for a few months to care for his ailing mother. He never returned, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Ukrainian police arrested a man named Viktoras Cajevkis in Kiev after finding him in possession of a fraudulent passport. Police sent the man back to Egypt where he had been living and Egyptian authorities arrested him July 31. After searching the man's apartment, police found a fake Russian passport and a canceled American passport belonging to Tigran Svadjian.
In a affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation this summer, federal investigators said the California Department of Health and Human Services began looking into Dr. Svadjian after he purchased the Newport Beach, Calif.-based Southwest Medical Group from another man with suspected ties to Armenian and Russian organized crime in 1998. In 2002, the CDHHS sent a letter to Dr. Svadjian, informing him that a 14-month audit into his practice revealed he had overbilled the state more than $1.9 million. Because he only provided 13 of 200 medical records requested by investigators, the FBI could not account for 94 percent of the services Dr. Svadjian allegedly performed, according to the article.
Officials at the time made him a deal: If Dr. Svadjian agreed to wear a wire to help police catch his co-conspirators, they would reduce his prison sentence, according to the article. Dr. Svadjian agreed to the deal, but informed authorities he had to travel to Russia to care for his sick mother but would be back by his scheduled court date.
According to Dr. Svadjian's confession after being extradited to the U.S. in August, Dr. Svadjian said he met an individual in Russia who offered to falsify a death certificate and provide him with a new Russian passport. From Russia, he then traveled to Egypt and began a new life.
Federal investigators said Dr. Svadjian faced up to 10 years in prison for the original charges, but that the charges had a five year statue of limitations. It is unclear whether authorities suspended the statute after he vanished. According to the affidavit, officials discarded the evidence against Dr. Svadjian in 2013 after receiving the fraudulent death certificate from Russian authorities.
Dr. Svadjian currently awaits sentencing for the charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, which maintains a maximum prison sentence of five years. Officials said they expect to reach a plea agreement with Dr. Svadjian this month and will not prosecute him for the 2002 charges of Medi-Cal fraud.