California Workers’ Comp Division Suspends 3 Medical Providers for Fraud

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The California Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended three more medical providers from participating in the state’s workers’ comp system, bringing the total number of providers suspended to 245.

The suspensions were made possible by the passage last year of Assembly Bill 1244, which requires the DWC administrative director to suspend any medical provider convicted of a crime involving fraud or abuse of the Medi-Cal or Medicare programs or the workers’ comp system, a patient, or related types of misconduct.

DWC Administrative Director George Parisotto issued suspension orders against the following providers:

Ronald Grusd, Los Angeles physician, was convicted in federal court in 2017 for his involvement in a illegal referral scheme with suspended providers Steven Rigler, Carlos Arguello, Fermin Iglesias and Alexander Kiev Martinez to defraud the California workers’ comp system by recruiting patients, paying illegal referral fees, and fraudulently submitting misleading documentation to insurers. Grusd and his co-conspirators submitted claims in excess of $20 million for services procured through the payment of bribes.
Toros Yeranosian of Encino, co-owner of Mauran Ambulance Service, and Aharon Krkasharyan of Los Angeles, manager of Mauran, were convicted in federal court in 2017 of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud for their involvement in an illegal scheme of providing unnecessary ambulance transportation services to Medicare beneficiaries and creating fraudulent reasons that justified the services. Yeranosian, Krkasharyan and their co-conspirators submitted over $1 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.

AB 1244 requires the DWC administrative director to suspend any medical provider, physician, or practitioner from participating in the workers’ comp system in cases in which any of the following is true: They were convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving fraud or abuse of the Medi-Cal or Medicare programs or the workers’ compensation system, fraud or abuse of a patient, or related misconduct; they were suspended due to fraud or abuse from the Medicare or Medicaid programs; or the provider’s license to provide health care has been surrendered or revoked.