Man pleads guilty to stealing COVID relief funds in NoHo hospice scheme

A West Hills man pleaded responsible Friday to stealing authorities funds designed to help medical suppliers within the therapy of sufferers affected by COVID-19.

Gurgen Israyelyan, 39, additionally admitted to stealing further authorities funds supposed to assist small companies through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Division of Justice stated in a information launch.

Israyelyan stated he owned Saint Christopher Hospice Inc., a hospice company in North Hollywood, which closed round September 2019.

The hospice company, which was by no means operational through the COVID-19 pandemic, acquired roughly $89,162 designated for the medical therapy and care of COVID-19 sufferers, in response to court docket paperwork.

Israyelyan admitted that he stole the funds by spending them for his private use and by transferring them to relations, relatively than utilizing the funds along side pandemic reduction efforts as required, the DOJ stated.

“The costs in opposition to Israyelyan resulted from his intentional misuse of funds distributed from the Coronavirus Assist, Reduction, and Financial Safety (CARES) Act Supplier Reduction Fund, cash specifically apportioned by the CARES Act to assist well being care suppliers who had been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to supply care to sufferers who had been affected by COVID-19, and to compensate suppliers for the price of that care,” the information launch states. “The funds had been crucial to delivering reduction to well being care suppliers and sustaining entry to medical care through the pandemic.”

As a part of his responsible plea, Israyelyan additionally admitted that he submitted, or prompted to be submitted, 5 fraudulent Financial Damage Catastrophe Mortgage functions to the Small Enterprise Administration on behalf of the hospice company, and 4 different entities that he managed: GMG Holdings LLC, Double G Ventures LLC, One Contact Assistants LLC, and G.I. Building Group.

Because of the fraudulent mortgage functions, the Small Enterprise Administration disbursed roughly $428,100 to Israyelyan, all of which had been proceeds that he knew he was not entitled to and which he used for his personal private profit, the DOJ stated.

The Financial Damage Catastrophe Mortgage program, which was expanded beneath the CARES Act, was designed to supply loans to small companies that suffered substantial financial damage from the pandemic.

Israyelyan pleaded responsible to 3 counts of theft of presidency property.

He’s scheduled to be sentenced on June 13 and faces as much as 10 years in jail for every depend.

Anybody with details about allegations of tried fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Division of Justice’s Nationwide Middle for Catastrophe Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or by way of the NCDF Internet Criticism Type.