L.A. doctor accused of faking medical exams for immigrants

A 72-year-old Los Angeles doctor was accused by state and federal authorities of faking medical exams for immigrants applying for U.S. visas, officials said.

According to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Levon Tebelekian allegedly charged immigrants $150 to give them medical clearance papers without giving them medical exams. Such exams are required by the federal government to make sure immigrants don't have any diseases.

It is unclear whether any of the immigrants involved in the alleged scam had any health problems.

Tebelekian was arrested by the agency, which handled the investigation in conjunction with the California Medical Board.

Tebelekian could not be reached for comment.

-- Shelby Grad

Comments

[Jay]

One can only imagine the diseases these people are infected with or their state of health if the doctor faked the medical exams. These are the type of people that break laws and take advantage of the system but because they are not Mexican, there will be no uproar or rally calls from so-called "Real Americans".

[bob guerra]

Why run articles like these knowing NOTHING will be done to the old dr (rich on fraud $). The person who should be in the article are the people who review and pay these claims. THATS THE PROBLEM. Fire them and hopefully they will stop rubber stamping claims from the tax payers.

[Motherby]

Scumbag putting everybody at risk to line his pockets, taking his license is not going to make a impact, he is already at retirement age, and he knew better. send his butt to jail

[Jim Q. Citizen]

Just another reason while illegal immigration is wrong. People sneaking across the border are hosts for many contagious diseases. Diseases that wind up costing taxpayers big money. That's why legal immigrants must be examined by a medical doctor upon arrival to the U.S. I hope the quack mentioned in this story gets some jail time and his medical license revoked. The immigrants who worked in concert with this scheme to hide their medical conditions should be deported.

[Richard]

Hey Jay, how do you know they are not Mexican?
Where do you get off with this "Real American" comment?
Maybe you need an exam of the mental kind?
I am glad they caught this so-called doctor...it is people like him that ruin this country all the time while making lots and lots of money.
Scum! He should lose his citizenship and get deported to some island off the coast where he has to eat seaweed for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[Matthew]

Jay that's a great point that you bring up. If this doctor would've been Mexican-American there would be a protest or demonstration from the "Real Americans". But since this doctor is most likely Armenian with the last name of Tebelekian nothing is going to be said at all. That is a shame that the color of your skin dictates behavior.

[Cino]

Let's see...ICE worries about fake med exams for legal immigrants, yet they could careless for 20 million ILLEGAL ALIENS (bringing known Third World diseases into the US/ and our schools/communities/ work places).

Pathetic.

[Julian B Duron]

Medi-Cal is going broke. This Doctor is only the tip of the iceberg sink the State and Federal government. What of the 100,000 plus doctor pulling the same scam? apprx 100,000 x 150 =15 Million

[lala]

We need more details, like what kind of visas the people were trying to get and where they are from. The US does not require visitors from the EU or Great Britain get visas for short trips. The second largest population of illegal immigrants is from Ireland, but people have less of a problem with them than the Mexicans, why? I have gotten a few short-visit visas, from Communist countries no less, and I have not had to have any kind of health exam. I also lived in Hong Kong as a child, got the TB vaccine, came back to the US frequently with NO health checks. I did have to get a skin test AFTER I moved back, tested positive, and went on meds although my lung x-ray was negative. This was after I had the chance to infect others, and I'm pretty sure the last major TB outbreak in this country was thanks to an AMERICAN CITIZEN. Our immigration and visa policies have been racist for years (check out the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1880 or 1890, as well as our country's policy about the immigration of Eastern European Jews leading up to WWII), and I have no doubt that similar policies are passed today, they are just considered acceptable by most people who vote/live here, because they are already here and most people (including myself) hold some innately distrustful and disdainful thoughts about people different from ourselves, and who those people are changes throughout time. But that is why we have brains that work: we can use them to overcome these mostly useless and stupid thoughts. No one group deserves better or worse treatment because of where they come from. I should have been treated no differently (health-wise) in my return to this country from a long-term stint living abroad than anyone trying to visit this country from the same area. In fact, due to our lack of vaccination for TB here, pretty much any American who travels to Asia, etc, is probably more likely to bring the disease back here. All people are created equal, not just the ones born here, and we are no better than anyone else as individuals. Our country seems to have problems with that ideal when it is not talking about Americans.

[Curious Observer]

It's reasonable to assume that if you apply for a temporary visa and pay for a phony medical clearance, you have no intention of respecting the terms of the visa. Illegal immigration corrupts, whether you contract with organized crime or an independent coyote to bring you across, or go the temp. visa route to enter with no intention of going back. There are millions of illegal aliens who proudly claim they 'entered legally' with a visa then decided to stay and work, having bought fraudulant documents from enterprising illegal immigrants already here. What a wonderful country, Pelosi, Boxer, Feinstine, Reid,Villareigoza, they think this is great.

[Steven]

The doctor was committing fraud on his patients and on USCIS. The question that has not been answered is whether any of his patients were committing fraud on USCIS as well.

[karen kelly]

And, what else is new in the late great state of California?!

[Chris]

80 years!!! are u kidding?...lets clean the Capitol Hill first...Those are the masterminds of curraption...

[me]

There is someone else helping out the illegals. Its funny how illegals can never help themselves out, they always need assistance in whatever they do. Immigrants used to be top notch and actually wanted an education and live the American dream now immigrants are bottom dwellers and just living off the system like leaches.