Chester Man Admits Role In $4 Million Healthcare Fraud

NORTH JERSEY — A Chester man pleaded guilty on Thursday to his involvement in a healthcare fraud operation, when he and another man from New York admitted to a federal judge they defrauded a union fund in excess of $4 million in benefits.

Alan Ajamian, 68 - along with James Maginn, 64, of Bellrose, N.Y. - pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud during a videoconference hearing with U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo.

Two others were charged with conspiracy in August 2020, Benjamin Iskhakov and Omawattie Dayaram, with their charges still pending.

Ajamian and Maginn could each serve up to a decade in prison and pay a $250,000 fine.

The U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey reported Ajamian’s admission to the judge and in accompanying court documents, reflected that from January 2016 to about January 2020, he’s been accused of bribing officials from a union health benefits fund with up to $10,000 cash, cigars, tickets to Yankee games and Las Vegas and other items, to create and financially profit from unauthorized health fairs.

For these health fairs, which Ajamian and Maginn allegedly ran, they hired doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to perform “as many medical tests on as many members as possible,” including nerve conduction studies, allergy tests, pulmonary function tests, echocardiograms, dopplers, ultrasounds and vascular studies, that were deemed unnecessary.

The union was billed more than $6 million for these as if the tests took place at an urgent care or doctor’s office, rather than the health fair, with $4 million paid to the groups associated with Ajamian and Maginn, the U.S. Attorney reported.

The medical tests resulted in thousands of claims tallying up to payments to Ajamian and Maginn of $2.8 million between January 2017 and April 2018; $529,060 between May 2019 and December 2019; $125 for each allergy test and $75 for each pulmonary tests between March 2018 and January 2020; and $964,000 between March 2018 and October 2019 for tests billed at $2.8 million.

Ajamian, who is represented by Rubin M. Sinins of Springfield - with Maginn represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Carol Dominguez of Newark - is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 25. Maginn's sentencing is planned on Oct. 26.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at jennifer.miller@patch.com.