A claims adjuster and a chiropractor in the San Fernando Valley were arrested on fraud charges after allegedly receiving more than $1.6 million in fake workers’ compensation payments.According to the California Department of Insurance, Dr. Shahe Topjian, 65, a chiropractor in Granada Hills, and Agop Sarafian, 65, a claims adjuster from La Crescenta, conspired to defraud the State Compensation Insurance Fund by establishing fake workers’ compensation lien payments to receive insurance payouts, the agency said Wednesday.The Department’s Operation Lien on Me investigation revealed Sarafian allegedly created and approved 459 lien payments to Topjian from 2007 to 2019 for services that were never provided, using information from past compensation claims. All payments were for less than $5,000 to avoid outside approval, the department said.“These trusted professionals conspired to illegally line their own pockets for over a decade,” California Department of Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement. “Their actions not only defrauded money from State Fund, but also harmed California consumers who pay for this type of fraud through higher insurance premiums.”Sarafian and Topjian were booked into the Los Angeles Sheriff Department Inmate Reception Center with bail set at $50,000.
Valley Chiropractor, Claims Adjuster Booked on Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges
