Medicare Fraudster Gets Prison For Hospice Scheme

A Los Angeles woman was sentenced to 35 months in federal prison after prosecutors said she helped run a hospice and diagnostic testing fraud scheme that cost Medicare more than $14 million. (justice.gov) Federal prosecutors said Sophia Shaklian, 38, of the Larchmont area pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of health care fraud. U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. also ordered her to pay $14,103,043 in restitution. (justice.gov) The Justice Department said the scheme ran from March 2019 through August 2024. Prosecutors said Shaklian and co-schemers used bogus hospice and diagnostic testing providers enrolled with Medicare to submit claims for services that were unnecessary or never provided. (justice.gov) One of the businesses named by prosecutors was Pasadena-based Chateau d’Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care, which the government said Shaklian owned. The other companies listed were Saint Gorge Radiology in Sylmar, Hope Diagnostics in North Hollywood, Direct Imaging & Diagnostics and Lab One in Hollywood, and Labtech and Lifescan Diagnostics in Claremont. (justice.gov) Hospice care is Medicare coverage for patients who are terminally ill and expected to have six months or less to live if the illness follows its usual course. Prosecutors said the defendants instead used beneficiary information and eligibility checks to bill Medicare for people who did not need the services, never received them, or did not know the providers. (justice.gov 1) (justice.gov 2) In one example in the plea record, prosecutors said the group submitted a false $2,000 Medicare claim in November 2022 for diagnostic testing supposedly provided to an individual. The government said Shaklian admitted fraudulent claims were submitted both by her and by co-schemers during the operation. (justice.gov) The case landed during a wider crackdown on hospice fraud in Los Angeles. On April 8, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors directed county staff to develop recommendations for better coordination with local, state and federal agencies investigating hospice and home health fraud. (patch.com) County officials said more than 4,700 home health and hospice facilities operate in Los Angeles County. They pointed to cases involving billing for care never provided and the use of stolen identities to enroll patients. (patch.com) Shaklian’s co-defendant, Alex Alexsanian, 48, of Burbank, pleaded guilty on January 20 to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. At the time of Shaklian’s sentencing, prosecutors said he was scheduled to be sentenced on April 28 and faced a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison. (justice.gov) The sentence closes one chapter in a seven-figure Medicare case built around hospice care meant for dying patients, not sham billing operations. Federal prosecutors said the loss figure tied to Shaklian alone was at least $14,103,043. (justice.gov)