Ashot Sanamian

On May 8, 2014, Ashot Sanamian was indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute and divert oxycodone, a schedule II narcotic drug, and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Investigators believe that Sanamian participated in a multi-million dollar pill mill scheme that involved diverting over one million OxyContin pills to the streets.

According to the indictment, Sanamian was the owner and CEO of A & A Billing Services (A&A) and also participated in this scheme as a "runner." Sanamian's co-conspirators operated a medical clinic in Los Angeles, California, which functioned as a "prescription mill." The clinic generated OxyContin prescriptions for patients who did not need the medication. The prescriptions were then given to runners, including Sanamian and other co-conspirators employed by the Clinic, who either took the recruited patients and/or the prescriptions and related documentation to cooperating pharmacies, which filled the prescriptions. Depending on the insurance plan, the runners then took the OxyContin and delivered it to the clinic administrator, who sold it on the streets.

During the Clinic's operation, more than 13,000 bottles of OxyContin were diverted to the streets. Because the Clinic almost exclusively prescribed 90 quantity pill bottles, more than 1.1 million OxyContin pills were diverted during the course of the conspiracy. Medicare paid approximately $2.7 million for OxyContin prescribed by the Clinic and its doctors.

Sanamian is believed to have departed the United States. He remains a fugitive at-large.