CA Claims Adjuster And Chiropractor Co-Conspirator Arrested In $1.6 Million Fraud

Claims adjuster Agop Sarafian of La Crescenta, and chiropractor Shahe Topjian, D.C. of Granada Hills were recently arrested on felony insurance fraud charges after allegedly conspiring to defraud Sarafian’s employer, the State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund), by setting up fake workers’ compensation lien payments to receive undeserved insurance payouts of over $1.6 million.

In November 2019, another State Fund employee noted a suspicious lien payment issued by Sarafian and advised a Special Investigator for State Fund regarding their concerns.

State Fund, a “quasi-state agency”, initiated an investigation and discovered that Sarafian had processed 459 lien payments to Topjian over a period of twelve years.

State Fund referred the case to the Department of Insurance for further investigation. A lien is often submitted by a physician or provider for payment that they believe they are entitled from a claimant’s workers’ compensation treatment or for services rendered.