Former Nvidia fraud-security manager charged in health care scheme
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Former Nvidia fraud-security manager charged in health care scheme
Faranak Firozan, 47, submitted 167 fraudulent claims for over $100,000 against Nvidia’s health plan over a more than three-year span. She faces numerous felony counts, including altering medical records with fraudulent intent and preparing false statements in connection with insurance claims. If convicted, she could be sentenced to years in prison and ordered to pay restitution.
Faranak Firozan, 47, a San Jose fraud prevention expert, submitted 167 fraudulent claims for over $100,000 against Nvidia’s health plan over a more than three-year span, the DA’s Office said.
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Firozan faces numerous felony counts, including altering medical records with fraudulent intent and preparing false statements in connection with insurance claims, the DA said. She also is charged with a white-collar crime enhancement.
Firozan is scheduled to be arraigned July 15 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. If convicted, she could be sentenced to years in prison and ordered to pay restitution.
Firozan was a senior manager of privacy and security at Santa Clara-based Nvidia and also served as an expert speaker on fraud prevention, the DA said. She made the fraudulent claims between November 2020 and January 2024 to Nvidia’s self-insured health plan, administered by Cigna.
The California Department of Insurance in August 2024 received a suspected fraudulent claim referral from Cigna. Firozan had been flagged previously in Cigna’s system in October 2023 after she submitted a large amount of reimbursement claims in one month, the DA said. Many of the claims featured handwritten codes.
Firozan is accused of altering bills by changing service dates and often fabricating entire documents. Providers verified that services listed in her claims were either not performed at all or were duplicated claims, the DA said.
San Jose fraud prevention expert charged with healthcare fraud
Faranak Firozan, 47, is accused of submitting 167 fraudulent claims against Nvidia. Prosecutors say many of the claims were either entirely made up or that bills were altered by changing service dates. She worked as a security manager at Nvidia and regularly spoke as an expert on fraud prevention. If convicted, she faces years in prison and would be ordered to pay restitution.
Faranak Firozan, 47, is accused of submitting the fraudulent claims between November 2020 and January 2024 to Nvidia’s self-insured health plan, according to prosecutors. The DA’s office said that many of the claims were either entirely made up or that bills were altered by changing service dates.
“Providers verified that services listed in her claims were either not performed at all or were duplicated claims,” the DA’s office wrote.
The scheme began to unravel in August 2024, according to prosecutors, after the California Department of Insurance received a suspected fraudulent claim referral from Cigna, which administered Nvidia’s health plan.
“On her LinkedIn page, Firozan described herself as an expert in abuse prevention systems and fraud investigations for financial institutions,” the DA’s office wrote. “In 2020, she provided training on cyber laundering for the Information Systems Security Association Silicon Valley Chapter.”
Firozan was charged with altering medical records with fraudulent intent and preparing false statements in connection with insurance claims. She also faces an added aggravated white-collar crime enhancement.
Firozan is scheduled to be arraigned on July 15. If convicted, prosecutors said she faces years in prison and would be ordered to pay restitution.
Source: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/former-nvidia-manager-fraud/3892302/