Doctor Fakes Death to Evade Healthcare Fraud Charges Sentenced

LOS ANGELES – A medical doctor, Tigran Svadjian, 58, who escaped the United States in 2002 by faking his own death to evade healthcare fraud charges, was handed a 29-month federal prison sentence this afternoon.

Svadjian, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Armenia, lived in Newport Beach before fleeing to Russia in September 2002, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The doctor had pleaded guilty in November to one count of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. In 2002, Svadjian was accused of a $2.4 million scheme involving fraudulent Medi-Cal claims by submitting bills for tests he never performed.

Upon learning his death, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a false death certificate, which Svadjian used to obtain a fraudulent Russian passport and relocate to Egypt, where he worked as a scuba instructor under an alias.

In 2013, after years of unsuccessful searches, prosecutors dropped the healthcare fraud case against him. However, Egyptian authorities detained Svadjian in August 2016 after uncovering his true identity and U.S. passport.

Prosecutors noted that Svadjian’s actions were more than a mere escape from justice; he engaged in a complex scheme involving bribery of foreign officials and submission of false death certificates to the State Department. He abandoned his family, including his wife and son, and lived under a false identity for over 15 years.