Calif. Physician Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Fraud

A Brentwood, California physician who pleaded no contest to fraud charges in three separate cases was sentenced this week to an eight-year prison term and ordered to pay his victims $5 million, the District Attorney’s office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Albert MacKenzie said Parviz Kahn Berjis, 71, was sentenced by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler. Berjis pleaded no contest on Nov. 1 to one count of automobile insurance fraud, one count of workers’ compensation insurance fraud and one count of tax evasion. He also admitted the loss from the crimes was more than a half-million dollars.

MacKenzie, with the District Attorney’s Fraud Interdiction Program, said Berjis was charged in three separate cases. One involved a long-running workers’ comp fraud case in which the County of Los Angeles was victimized. Another involved an automobile insurance fraud case in which the State of California, the Automobile Club of California and several insurance companies were victims. Berjis also was charged with evading hundreds of thousands of dollars in state taxes.

The prosecutor said the cases were investigated by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation and the California Franchise Tax Board. Berjis was first arrested in August 2003. The cases were filed against him in 2003 and 2004.

MacKenzie said Berjis, who had a medical office at 11645 Wilshire Blvd., had his medical license suspended in 2003.

The $5 million restitution includes $2.8 million to the state Franchise Tax Board and $2.2 million to the Los Angeles County.