15 replies to this topic

[Arpa]

ARMENIAN BASHING
A new spectator sport in town.

We saw the breaking news here;
http://hyeforum.com/...pic=18873&st=80
And here;
http://hyeforum.com/...20
-----
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier


Media Unfairly Bashes All Armenians Because of Alleged Crimes of a Few
The first problem with the widely circulated reports that several Armenians have defrauded Medicare out of millions of dollars is that these individuals are innocent until proven guilty. Only after a court establishes their guilt, they can be labeled as crooks or criminals.

It is even more outrageous that the good name of all Armenians is being tarnished by sweeping media generalizations, bringing intense feelings of shame to millions of law-abiding Armenians who are overly sensitive about their reputation. Last week’s sensational headlines referring to an "Armenian crime syndicate" or "Armenian criminals" completely traumatized the Armenian-American community. Exploiting the media hype, all sorts of racists, Armenian-haters, and naturally, some Turks have come out of the woodwork to post vicious anti-Armenian comments on various internet sites.

One of the most insulting references to these arrests was made on the radio/internet show called "The Young Turks." As if the name of the show was not offensive enough to Armenians, the co-hosts, Ana Kasparian, an Armenian-American, and Cenk Uygur, a Turkish American, last week repeatedly bashed the accused as well as all Armenians.

The fact that Kasparian is an Armenian makes her comments even more offensive. Trying to be funny or entertaining does not give her a license to hurl insults at individuals who have been merely accused, but not convicted of any crimes, and the community at large for the alleged crimes of a few! Here are excerpts of the co-hosts’ disgraceful remarks:

Kasparian: "Dozens of Armenians throughout the United States have recently got arrested for Medicare fraud. Now this is an age-old trick of Armenians. This is what Armenians do. OK. And that’s a gross generalization. And a large majority of these offenders lived in Glendale, California. I am not kidding. That’s a fact.

Uygur: That’s literally true! [Chuckling]. By the way, I am amused by the Armenian community Medicare fraud in Glendale. [Imitating an Armenian accent]: “You do Medical fraud? Of course. Who doesn’t do Medicare fraud? Come now!” Is that close to an Armenian accent?

Kasparian: It’s close. So, what these individuals would do is, they would steal the identities of doctors, identities of hundreds of thousands of individuals in the United States and they would make false claims. They would create these phantom health care clinics that don’t even really exist and then bill Medicare for treatments that never happened and then Medicare would send this money to these fake doctors or these doctors that have their identities stolen….

Uygur: Let me give you a little detail how it works. It’s kind of interesting. So, they steal a list of doctors’ names….
Kasparian: …There is shame on two different sides here. Shame on the Armenians and shame on the government for not realizing it until now -- until these Armenians stole $163 million from Medicare [The correct figure is $35 million].

Uygur: You know what? That is a pretty good scam. You gotta give it up to them. They are working up in Glendale. [Chuckling].
Kasparian: And it wasn’t just in Glendale. These are Armenians throughout the country. Like, we got Armenians in New York City, we got Armenians in California, a couple in Ohio, some in New Mexico, some in Florida, all over the place. It’s a massive operation. They’re all connected. They all know what they’re doing. It’s insanity. In fact, officials equated this to the mafia. This is like the Armenian mafia operating in the United States. Part of me felt like I should be a little proud of that, because I am kind of a bad ass, but another part of me of course was humiliated. I feel so bad for the people that are victims of this. Because not only the government gets millions of dollars stolen from them, there are people who have their identity stolen. So these Armenians can sit at home, drive their Rolls Royces, and not do anything.

Uygur: I’m gonna take a little controversial view on this. Obviously, they couldn’t be more wrong -- busted, go to jail, etc. We are not having any of that conversation. On the other hand, it is a little ingenious…. You know what happens! People get greedy. Once you got that scam going, and you haven’t got caught in a long time, you think let’s churn this thing out. Everyone wants a piece of the action. Next thing you know, everybody in Glendale knows, and they all want their cut in it. Of course, there is an ugly side to this. One of the guys I believe you saw in the picture was "vor."

Kasparian: By the way, "vor" means "ass." I’m wondering why all of the news articles refer to him as "vor."
Uygur: The news articles claim that "vor" means "thief-in-law" which is a bizarre thing….

Violating all legal and journalistic norms, the co-hosts of the show never once use the words "alleged" or "accused" to describe the defendants. If the charges against some of these individuals are dropped, Kasparian and Uygur could be sued for libel.

So far tens of thousands of viewers have seen this particular episode on various internet sites. Thousands more have heard it on radio. Over 800 viewers have posted comments on YouTube alone. You can watch the show and post a comment by clicking on: http://www.youtube.c...?v=qUrFaecJOqE.

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

Edited by Arpa, 19 October 2010 - 08:05 AM.

[Azat]

blahhhh. we all need to bash these a-holes. would it be okay to write this article in a year or two when they are found guilty?

[Yervant1]

Nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything that has happened, be it good or bad has it's origins in the community itself, it starts in it, flourishes and develops or dies in it. It all depends on the community itself whether to accept or reject a certain activities of it's members. By no means I'm generalizing, I still believe that the majority of them are law abiding citizens who live their lives in a honourable way and they are the source of pride for other members to emulate.
These criminals cannot succeed if they don't get help from some members of the community, for a little piece of the pie so to speak. In order to stop this we need to admit that it's happening and look for ways how to stop it. The law abiding community members should out these little criminals and shun them publicly in order to cut the fertile ground for the criminals to operate in it. The community leaders should take a stand and declare war against these crooks instead of remaining silent. We all know a person or two here and there that approached us and asked if we have insurance and that we could make few dollars if we visited this or that doctor for an orthopedic shoes! Or a wheelchair!
Other communities are doing it as well, you might say. Yes they are but that won't be our problem would it? Yes the media is harsh in it's generalization but whose to blame?

So please stop the excuses and do your part in order to cleanse the community from the scum bags who are ruining it for all of us.

[Azat]

Yervant for President

[Yervant1]

Yervant for President

Will do it for only a one dollar yearly salary.

[Arpa]

The plot thickens.
Above, when it was alleged that some of the moneys are sent to Armenia, I posed the not so rhetorical question -“To whom? How?”
There may still be a silver lining to this dark cloud.
Do you think, hope that with this world attention, may be that “trash can of corruption will be cleaned?
I sm not waiting with abated breath!!!
One can only hope!!
----
http://news.am/eng/news/35346.html
FBI agents to hold meeting in Armenia on alleged medical fraud case

October 21, 2010 | 14:46
RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan held a meeting October 21 with US Embassy in Armenia Legal Advisor Steve Kessler, Kevin P. Donovan of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Legal Advisor David Khachatryan and Lance Levequeen in charge of regional security.
The press service of the RA prosecutor General’s Office informed NEWS.am that the sides discussed bilateral cooperation in crime control.
Kevin Donovan thanked the RA prosecutor general for information on the Armenian members of the alleged criminal group involved in the medicaid scam in the United States.
The FBI official reported that 73 people have been charged with banking and medical frauds in the U.S. Thirty-two people were arrested on October 13.
Allegedly a vast network of Armenian gangsters and their associates used 18 phantom health care clinics and other means to try to cheat Medicare out of $163 million.
At the RA Prosecutor General’s request, Donovan promised to provide information on the Armenians, particularly Armenian citizens, involved in the crime. He said that the U.S. will, if necessary, apply to the Armenian law-enforcement agencies for assistance in investigation.
The RA Prosecutor General underlined the importance of finding the truth and identifying all the members of the criminal group. Aghvan Hovsepyan assured the FBI delegation of the Armenian prosecutor office’s willingness to assist the investigation within its terms of reference. The sides agreed to exchange information.
NEWS.am reminds readers that a vast network of Armenian gangsters and their associates used phantom health care clinics and other means to try to cheat Medicare out of $163 million.
The operation was under the protection of an alleged Armenian crime boss, Armen Kazarian, nicknamed Pzo, who was among the first arrestees in Los Algeles. Most of the defendants "were Armenian nationals or immigrants and many maintained substantial ties to Armenia" and criminals there.
About 40 of the 73 arrestees are Armenians, including the leaders David Mirzoyan, Robert Terjanyan and others.
Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, declared that the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian organization a syndicate in New York and Los Angeles run by Armenians used threats, intimidation and violence operating in a classical mafia style.

--------
http://www.armeniano...d_armenia_links

On media agenda: Do Armenian top officials have a hand in financial fraud in United States?

Bharara said the top members of the group had substantial ties to Armenia.
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Allegations about links between a recently busted Armenian American syndicate over a large-scale medical insurance fraud and authorities of Armenia has been one of the central subjects in Armenian media of late.
The opposition insists that Armenian authorities had patronized the criminals, while pro-government representatives brush aside similar allegations.
Dozens of ethnic Armenians were arrested in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere in the United States last week on charges of filing some $100 million in fake claims to a U.S. government health insurance program, known as Medicare. Some of the members of the suspected criminal group are known to be citizens of Armenia. And the suspected ringleader, Armen Kazarian, is known as a top crime figure in former Soviet countries enjoying a “vor v zakone” (or criminal underworld lord) status and goes by the nickname Pzo. District attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara said the top members of the group had substantial ties to Armenia, regularly visited the South Caucasus country, buying property there with the funds illegally acquired in the United States. Armenia’s opposition newspapers wrote that Pzo was a “guest of honor” at the wedding of former president Robert Kocharyan’s son Sedrak. But on October 18, the office of Kocharyan denied that information. A spokesman for President Serzh Sargsyan’s Republican Party of Armenia also denied the opposition media’s allegations of links between Kazarian and the current president. The Zhamanak daily newspaper, meanwhile, has also alleged close ties between Kazarian and deputy head of the Nubarashen penitentiary Serob Harutyunyan. Haykakan Zhamanak – Armenia’s extremist oppositional newspaper - quoted its sources as saying that 15 FBI agents have arrived in Armenia to investigate the activities of the criminal group in Armenia. They reportedly intend to find out who has been making investments using the stolen money and in which areas. Karabakh’s former foreign minister Arman Melikyan says that exposing an Armenian criminal group will have a negative impact on the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. At a press conference on October 19 Melikyan suggested that in the near future the U.S. might try to exert serious pressure on the top echelons of power in Armenia. “Huge amounts of money have been stolen from the [U.S.] state budget. Logically, the American side will freeze the bank deposits of our current and former representatives of the power elite involved in corrupt activities,” he said. He also noted that in this case the Armenian government may resort to concessions in the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Member of Parliament from the ruling Republican Party Hovhannes Sahakyan believes that the exposure of the group cannot affect the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. In his view, this fact perhaps may somewhat hurt the interests of honest Armenians living in the United States. Artashes Geghamyan, the leader of the National Unity Party, thinks that it is the Turkish- Azerbaijani propaganda and the opposition in Armenia that has used the row for their purposes.

[Yervant1]

I wonder what are the ethnic background of these crooks? I guess they were not Armenian, so why mention it.

MASSIVE HEALTHCARE FRAUD SCHEME UNCOVERED IN MIAMI

Reuters
2010-10-21
MIAMI

The top two officials of a leading chain of community mental health
centers were among four people arrested in Miami on Thursday in
connection with a scheme involving about $200 million in fraudulent
medical claims, U.S. prosecutors said.

The four conspired to charge Medicare, the federal health insurance
plan for the elderly and disabled, for mental health services that
were either unnecessary or never provided to patients, according to
the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

The arrested were: Lawrence Duran, owner of American Therapeutic Corp;
Marianella Valera, chief executive officer of the company; and two
other senior employees of American Therapeutic. The company is among
the nation's largest chain of community mental health centers licensed
by Medicare.

They were charged in a 13-count indictment with conspiracy to defraud
the United States and to receive healthcare kickbacks and to pay
healthcare kickbacks.

The indictment alleges American Therapeutic and its senior employees
conspired to bill Medicare for group therapy sessions for patients
in assisted-living facilities, many of whom suffered from Alzheimer's
disease or other severe dementia.

The assisted-living facilities allegedly received kickbacks for the
referrals to American Therapeutic.

The Medicare fraud described in the indictment was even bigger than
that of an Armenian-American crime group charged in New York last
week with operating phantom healthcare clinics that tried to cheat
the federal program out up to $163 million.
U.S. authorities had touted the New York case as "the largest Medicare
fraud scheme ever perpetrated by a single criminal enterprise."

Miami and south Florida have long been considered a key region for
fraud targeting healthcare programs for seniors because so many
elderly Americans retire to live in the area.

(Reporting by Tom Brown, editing by Will Dunham)

Edited by Yervant1, 22 October 2010 - 09:59 AM.

[Arpa]

Yes Yervant. I saw the following story a few days ago and was debating whether to air or not.
You will note that there is no mention of the ringleader’s ethnicity or religious affiliation. Otherwise some bleeding heart groups (ACLU/ADL)would sue their pants off. I will refrain from assuming the ringleader‘s ethnicity…. But….you be the judge. For all I know he may be Armenian -Voskerichian/Altounian??
Below we don’t see the dollar amount, according to other reports it runs in the millions.
Also, we never heard a whisper about Madoff’s ethnicity, who among many defrauded his own ilk.
Yes, many of us, including me feel that those so-called alleged (Armenian) thieves should be hanged at the closest tree. Perhaps then the rest will think twice to take the U.S. and the FBI for idiots.

ALBANY -- The owner and three employees of a Colonie-based outfit accused of scamming property owners, banks, lenders and insurance title corporations have cut plea deals with state prosecutors.
The plea bargains from the one-time leaders of Rivertown Investments at 1762 Central Ave. now leave a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud case aimed squarely at a lone defendant -- once-disbarred Waterford attorney Kevin Wheatley, the only defendant who had been indicted. He faces a possible 25 years in prison if convicted of a 23-count felony indictment.
The company's owner, Geoffrey Goldman, 34, of Albany, admitted to second-degree grand larceny Monday during an appearance in Albany County Court before Judge Thomas Breslin. Goldman also pleaded guilty to first-degree scheming to defraud between April 2003 and March 2008.….

----
Related, perhaps?
A short time ago Rick Sanchez (Hispanic) was fired at CNN for referring to John Stewart (an alias) as a “bigot” and mentioned his ethnicity.
Were those clowns Ana Kasparian and her sidekick fired for repeatedly using phrases like "Armenian mafia" etc? Btw. Who is that kats "ana kasparian"? Is her real name ana kusparoghlu?
--
Yesterday Juan Williams (Afro-American) was fired from NPR for expressing trepidations at the sight of people in Muslim attire in airplanes.
---
Does this mean from on Armenian people with -ian/yan surnames will be scrutinized more closely at airports?

Edited by Arpa, 23 October 2010 - 06:18 AM.

[Harut]

$200m??? are you telling me we are not the largest medicare scammers anymore?

[Anoushik]

I was debating about this with my dad. Like the rest of the Armenians my father was saddened that a group of lowlives had perpetrated this massive crime and played with the reputation of Armenian-Americans. But he was equally upset that the media "happily" had made the announcement that this group consisted of Armenian-Americans. While I can (somewhat) understand why some people are upset I also understand why the media called out that the criminal group were Armenian-Americans. The simple fact is that this large group did comprise of Armenian-Americans and the majority of them were from Los Angeles/Glendale! So how could the media have avoided that? In the case of the fraud in Miami only four people were involved, with the media releasing the names of the two involved. It's really simple, one is an organized group of very big numbers (thus media feeling compelled to call out that the group is recent immigrants who happen to be Armenian-Americans) and the other crime doesn't involve as many people

[Arpa]

The answer my friend is all in the “yan”
The answer is all in the “ian”.
The answer is “Blowing in the wind”.
How many can tell the ethnicity of a Smith, a Jones , a Brown, a Madoff, Medvedev or a Spitzer Abramov?
What if the names of those perpetrators were Ahmad Hasan-ian?
Or Murad Arabian?

Edited by Arpa, 27 October 2010 - 08:29 PM.

[Arpa]

The latest buzz is about that idiot of congressman Anthony Weiner’s impending resignation.
Good riddance!!! Who needs another pervert in our government? One time Governor of NY Mario Cuomo, the father of the current Andrew had an immaculate record, to not forget his First Lady Ms. Matilda.
His surname in fact means “Viennese/ from Vienna-Austria”. There were so many jokes about it… Use your imagination. We call it "hot-dog"

http://i.current.com...85/79/u1Tni.jpg



Can you imagine th media frenzy if his name were "vanian/ivanian"?
Just because his surname does not end in “ian/yan” no one mentioned his ethno-religious affiliation except in the context that his current so called wife, harem concubine is a muslim ** v him being yewish. Just as no one mentioned the ethno-religious affiliation of that other idiot, the one time disgraced so called Governor of NY Elliot Spitzer who cheated on his wife with prostitutes. Did anyone harp on the ethno-religion of that other idiot Madoff except in reference that he had conned his own people ‘s finances. Why is a circumcised “weenei/weiner” so much more sacred?
WHY?? Is it because their names did not end in “IAN/YAN”?
Is it time that we amend our surnames from “IAN” to “stein, like instead “Armenian to Armenstein/Armenski/Armeni/Armani, or from Amenian to Armenson?***

**Jewish Congressman Anthony Weiner who has a peculiar habit of tweeting lewd photographs of himself while in his underpants has also, talking of underpants managed to get his Muslim wife Huma Abedin up the duff (pregnant for you yanks).Huma Abedin Saudi raised to Indian dad & Pakistani mum is a major political power player in Washington currently Hillary Clinton's Chief of Staff with ridiculous smears suggesting she has Saudi intelligence links now finds herself being advised by a host of Imams to stand by her man. Revealing how those Israelites who smear innocent Huma remain silent about Jewish traitor Jonathan Pollard who did spy but for Israel.

***At one time there were many stories about the so called “russian mafia” in NY, when no one mentioned that so many of those with Russian sounding names in fact subscribed to a certain ehno-religion.

Edited by Arpa, 16 June 2011 - 02:34 PM.

[Arpa]

Speaking of “IAN-YAN” bashing. We have been watching this piece of garbage news for so many months.
Did anyone here hear anything about his ethno-religious origin? Search using his name and “religion” as your keywords and see.
Of course! His name does not end in “IAN-YAN”!
It ends in “kahn” a variation of “cohen/kohn/kahana”.
Anyone know why at times "hrya 'priests'? " are called "khakham"?
Here is the latest;

Strauss-Kahn faces further charges in France
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 06/07/2011
Reporter: Lisa Millar
A French author has filed a criminal complaint of attempted rape against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Edited by Arpa, 06 July 2011 - 08:25 AM.

[Arpa]

See # 245 here;
http://hyeforum.com/...40
http://american-ratt...or-250-million/

“Russian speaking immigrants”?
How about russ-arabo-furko-farsi speakers of Gelendelastan?

Anyone dare, have big enough balls to mention their ethnicity and religious affiliation?
Of course not, since they don’t have names ending in “ian/yan”.

By Michel Evanchik
As health care costs keep rising, a good part of that rise is due to insurance fraud. According to the New York Times, 10 doctors, in 9 separate clinics, funneling money through a total of 105 different corporations conspired to defraud private insurance programs for over $250 million. And this plot is just the tip of the iceberg in a vast culture of fraud.
American Rattlesnake cares because most of these conspirators are immigrants from the ex-Soviet Union:
This one, like many others, was rooted in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, the locus of the city’s Russian-speaking immigrant population, many of whom grew up under a Communist system that bred disdain for the rules and a willingness to cheat to get around them.
Brighton Beach has one of the highest rates of health care fraud in the nation, according to federal statistics. In fact, an analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that regulates those two programs, shows that more health care providers in the Brighton Beach ZIP code are currently barred from the programs for malfeasance than in almost any other ZIP code in the United States. (The top spot is in southern Florida, with its high proportion of older residents.)
“This is the Russian mind-set, and this is why it’s endemic in the system,” said one law-enforcement official who has investigated organized-crime groups from the former Soviet Union. “If you’re not scamming the system, if you’re not scamming the government, you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing — you’re looked upon as a patsy.”
Tags: Brighton Beach, crime, ex-Soviet Union, fraud, law enforcement, New York, organized crime, Russia, Russians, USA

Here are the governor and mayor of Brighton Beach

Edited by Arpa, 09 March 2012 - 06:38 PM.

[Arpa]

Armenian ?
SHUNSHANORDINER!!!
I did not understand why this was posted on Groong until I got to the end.
Do they say anywhere that he subscribed to a particular ethno-religious persuasion?
Who contact the paper and the sheriff to argue?
Note the ethno-religion of the journalist. Why did he highlight the “Armenian” part?

Oddly enough the name of the rabbi of Yerevan is Burstein.

Con man posed as doctor, lawyer and rabbi, Broward authorities say
By Jon Burstein
Sun Sentinel
Updated: 10:54 a.m. Monday, May 7, 2012
Posted: 10:53 a.m. Monday, May 7, 2012
He's on probation for practicing law without a license. He's charged with carrying a foreign diplomat's passport. He got a badge from a Broward hospital identifying him as a doctor and clergyman. His second wife believed he was a rabbi.
But David Vyner only has one true profession: con artist, according to the Broward sheriff's detective who spent months piecing together the Armenian immigrant's life in South Florida.
Read the complete story at SunSentinel

See the full article here;
http://www.allvoices...authorities-say

Vyner has said he isn't a bigamist because he had received an annulment from the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, where he wed his first wife, court records show. His second wife now has divorce proceedings pending against him. Both women declined to be interviewed by the Sun Sentinel and asked not to be identified in any articles.

Vyner has testified he fled from Armenia because he had been the victim of a "long, long history of persecution." He arrived in Newfoundland in 1998 where his attempt to apply for political asylum was denied.

Edited by Arpa, 08 May 2012 - 05:44 PM.

[Louise Kiffer]

ARMENIAN BASHING
A new spectator sport in town.

We saw the breaking news here;
http://hyeforum.com/...pic=18873&st=80
And here;
http://hyeforum.com/...20
-----
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier


Media Unfairly Bashes All Armenians Because of Alleged Crimes of a Few
The first problem with the widely circulated reports that several Armenians have defrauded Medicare out of millions of dollars is that these individuals are innocent until proven guilty. Only after a court establishes their guilt, they can be labeled as crooks or criminals.

It is even more outrageous that the good name of all Armenians is being tarnished by sweeping media generalizations, bringing intense feelings of shame to millions of law-abiding Armenians who are overly sensitive about their reputation. Last week’s sensational headlines referring to an "Armenian crime syndicate" or "Armenian criminals" completely traumatized the Armenian-American community. Exploiting the media hype, all sorts of racists, Armenian-haters, and naturally, some Turks have come out of the woodwork to post vicious anti-Armenian comments on various internet sites.

One of the most insulting references to these arrests was made on the radio/internet show called "The Young Turks." As if the name of the show was not offensive enough to Armenians, the co-hosts, Ana Kasparian, an Armenian-American, and Cenk Uygur, a Turkish American, last week repeatedly bashed the accused as well as all Armenians.

The fact that Kasparian is an Armenian makes her comments even more offensive. Trying to be funny or entertaining does not give her a license to hurl insults at individuals who have been merely accused, but not convicted of any crimes, and the community at large for the alleged crimes of a few! Here are excerpts of the co-hosts’ disgraceful remarks:

Kasparian: "Dozens of Armenians throughout the United States have recently got arrested for Medicare fraud. Now this is an age-old trick of Armenians. This is what Armenians do. OK. And that’s a gross generalization. And a large majority of these offenders lived in Glendale, California. I am not kidding. That’s a fact.

Uygur: That’s literally true! [Chuckling]. By the way, I am amused by the Armenian community Medicare fraud in Glendale. [Imitating an Armenian accent]: “You do Medical fraud? Of course. Who doesn’t do Medicare fraud? Come now!” Is that close to an Armenian accent?

Kasparian: It’s close. So, what these individuals would do is, they would steal the identities of doctors, identities of hundreds of thousands of individuals in the United States and they would make false claims. They would create these phantom health care clinics that don’t even really exist and then bill Medicare for treatments that never happened and then Medicare would send this money to these fake doctors or these doctors that have their identities stolen….

Uygur: Let me give you a little detail how it works. It’s kind of interesting. So, they steal a list of doctors’ names….
Kasparian: …There is shame on two different sides here. Shame on the Armenians and shame on the government for not realizing it until now -- until these Armenians stole $163 million from Medicare [The correct figure is $35 million].

Uygur: You know what? That is a pretty good scam. You gotta give it up to them. They are working up in Glendale. [Chuckling].
Kasparian: And it wasn’t just in Glendale. These are Armenians throughout the country. Like, we got Armenians in New York City, we got Armenians in California, a couple in Ohio, some in New Mexico, some in Florida, all over the place. It’s a massive operation. They’re all connected. They all know what they’re doing. It’s insanity. In fact, officials equated this to the mafia. This is like the Armenian mafia operating in the United States. Part of me felt like I should be a little proud of that, because I am kind of a bad ass, but another part of me of course was humiliated. I feel so bad for the people that are victims of this. Because not only the government gets millions of dollars stolen from them, there are people who have their identity stolen. So these Armenians can sit at home, drive their Rolls Royces, and not do anything.

Uygur: I’m gonna take a little controversial view on this. Obviously, they couldn’t be more wrong -- busted, go to jail, etc. We are not having any of that conversation. On the other hand, it is a little ingenious…. You know what happens! People get greedy. Once you got that scam going, and you haven’t got caught in a long time, you think let’s churn this thing out. Everyone wants a piece of the action. Next thing you know, everybody in Glendale knows, and they all want their cut in it. Of course, there is an ugly side to this. One of the guys I believe you saw in the picture was "vor."

Kasparian: By the way, "vor" means "ass." I’m wondering why all of the news articles refer to him as "vor."
Uygur: The news articles claim that "vor" means "thief-in-law" which is a bizarre thing….

Violating all legal and journalistic norms, the co-hosts of the show never once use the words "alleged" or "accused" to describe the defendants. If the charges against some of these individuals are dropped, Kasparian and Uygur could be sued for libel.

So far tens of thousands of viewers have seen this particular episode on various internet sites. Thousands more have heard it on radio. Over 800 viewers have posted comments on YouTube alone. You can watch the show and post a comment by clicking on: http://www.youtube.c...?v=qUrFaecJOqE.

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier