4 Marlborough Lab Employees Charged In Fraud Scheme: AG

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Four employees from a Marlborough medical testing lab have been charged in a scheme to defraud MassHealth, according to Attorney General Maura Healey.

The employees worked at the Discovery Diagnostic Laboratory (DDL) along Cedar Hill Street. Healey said that a large part of the fraud schemed involved referrals from two Brockton substance abuse clinics, whose owner had a stake in DDL. The lab also billed MassHealth for millions in false claims for urine screens, according to Healey.

The four employees charged include:

• Arnak Khachatryan, 42, of Waltham: two counts of violating the laboratory self-referral statute, conspiracy to violate the laboratory self-referral statute, filing false Medicaid claims, filing false Medicaid reverse claims, conspiracy to commit larceny over $1,000, money laundering, assault and battery, witness intimidation and two counts of conspiracy.
• Diana Martirosyan, 41, of Sherborn: violating the laboratory self-referral statute, filing false Medicaid claims, filing false Medicaid reverse claims, larceny over $1,200 obstruction and two counts of conspiracy.
• Hyak Kirakosyan, 44, of Sherborn: assault and battery, witness intimidation and two counts of conspiracy.
• Suren Manukyan, 39, of Waltham: witness intimidation and two counts of conspiracy.

According to Healey, Khachatryan, who has a financial interest in DDL, referred urine tests from his Brockton treatment facilities, a violation of the state laboratory self-referral law. Khachatryan then hid the referrals through shell companies, Healey said.

The assault charges stem from an incident where Khachatryan, Manukyan and Kirakosyan lured a former business partner to a cemetery and threatened to hurt him if he cooperated with Healey's investigation, she said.

Khachatryan was arraigned in September, and Martirosyan, Kirakosyan and Manukyan were arraigned on Tuesday.