The former owner of a Los Angeles home health agency was sentenced Thursday to 12 months and a day in federal prison for illegally obtaining over $100,000 in COVID-19 relief funds.
Petros Hannesyan, 38, of Burbank, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt to pay restitution in the amount of $230,454, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Hannesyan pleaded guilty in November in downtown Los Angeles to one federal count each of theft of government property and wire fraud.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hannesyan fraudulently obtained the funds from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration through his then-defunct company, Hollywood Home Health Services Inc., as well as through a fake sole proprietorship in his name, federal prosecutors said.
Instead of using the funding for its proper purpose, Hannesyan used the monies for his personal benefit, including sending money to family in Armenia, purchasing luxury goods in Las Vegas and purchasing another business, the defendant admitted in Los Angeles federal court.