Posted on: June 1, 2026, 06:15h.
Last updated on: June 1, 2026, 06:21h.
- Blood lab owner spent millions on gambling while concealing Medicare-linked income
- Figurehead owner helped keep Medicare reimbursements flowing for years
- Scheme generated $11.2 million in unpaid taxes, court records show
A Southern California laboratory owner who concealed millions of dollars in Medicare reimbursements while spending heavily on gambling has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.
Armen Muradyan, 60, of Burbank, was handed a 51‑month sentence in Los Angeles federal court after pleading guilty to charges including healthcare fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion, the US Attorney’s Office said.
Blood Brothers
Muradyan admitted covertly running a blood-testing business that used a friend as a figurehead owner so that millions of dollars in Medicare reimbursements kept coming, despite the fact he had been banned from making claims.
Muradyan deposited the payments into bank accounts he opened in his friend’s name and took the funds for himself. He reported only modest personal income, roughly $40,000 a year, to the IRS while spending millions of dollars on gambling and other personal expenses, per the DOJ.
Muradyan failed to report approximately $23.9 million in taxable income between 2015 and 2023. This left about $11.2 million in unpaid federal income taxes, plus nearly $3.9 million in accrued interest, according to prosecutors.
The scheme relied on a longtime associate identified in court documents as “L.S.” Muradyan paid his friend approximately $2,000 per month to pretend to own Genex Laboratories, a Burbank blood-testing company.
Stooge ‘Owner’
L.S. signed documents, opened bank accounts, and submitted Medicare enrollment paperwork while Muradyan remained the true owner and operator of the business, prosecutors said.
The friend did not manage the lab, merely acting as a nominee while Muradyan managed company funds from behind the scenes.
Muradyan also admitted obtaining a $99,900 Economic Injury Disaster Loan through false statements during the COVID-19 pandemic. He admitted falsely claiming that another company, GenMed, had employees and generated approximately $800,000 in revenue during 2019 when it had neither.
Muradyan pleaded guilty in August 2025. Judge John A. Kronstadt ordered him to pay $15.16 million in restitution in addition to the prison sentence.