By Louie Brogdon

After being flown from Los Angeles to stand trial in federal court in Brunswick, an Armenian man accused of laundering money for phony medical supply businesses pleaded guilty Monday.

Sahak Tumanyan, 43, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to launder money in an $8 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved Brunswick Medical Supply, a fake business at 1603 Gloucester St., and other bogus businesses in Savannah, Macon and other cities.

U.S. Attorney Brian Rafferty alleged the false businesses were stealing Medicare information from doctors and patients and then making false claims for medical goods that never existed.

As a part of a plea offer from Rafferty, the charge against Tumanyan's wife, Hasmik Tumanyan, 38, was dropped.

Hasmik Tumanyan originally faced the same count as her husband on a 10-count federal indictment.

The Tumanyans were rearrested after making bond because prosecutors said they tried to flee back to Armenia before their trial.

Sentencing for Sahak Tumanyan will happen at a later date. He faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison and up to $500,000 in fines, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney James Durham.

Along with the Tumanyans, nearly 40 federal witnesses had been scheduled to fly to Brunswick. Durham said Monday he did not know if all the now-unnecessary plane tickets had been purchased.

The lead defendant in the case, Arthur Manasarian, 49, pled guilty Aug. 4 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and another count of aggravated identity theft.

Manasarian is also awaiting sentencing. He faces 12 years imprisonment, more than $500,000 in fines and possible restitution when he is sentenced.

Also charged are two other Armenians, Gegham Sargsyan, 56, and Khoren Gasparian, 27, who are hiding in Armenia and Russia, according to Durham.

Toni R. Lowery, 27, of Savannah was charged in an original indictment, but his case was dropped in December.

The case is believed to be part of a nationwide crime syndicate that has fleeced Medicare of $163 million, according to U.S. Attorney Edward J. Tarver.

The Brunswick News, August 16, 2011