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Harut Sassounian

Harut Sassounian

California Courier Editor
Harut Sassounian is the publisher of The California Courier, a weekly newspaper based in Glendale, Calif. He is the president of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization that has donated to Armenia and Artsakh one billion dollars of humanitarian aid, mostly medicines, since 1989 (including its predecessor, the United Armenian Fund). He has been decorated by the presidents of Armenia and Artsakh and the heads of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches. He is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

51 Comments

  1. Very important and indespensable article!
    I say it’s time we go tooth and nail against news agencies that have been for years now showing an increasingly Anti-Armenian stance. The gross negligence in reporting the facts and inflating the figures is criminal and should be accounted for. 35 million dollars, instead of the 160 being reported, is not even pocket change next to what jewish Bernie Madoff and company pulled off. It does not even measure to the monies and assets involved in that scam, yet noone in the media would dare to generalize and call all jews crooks. Of course it helps that most of the media is in the hands of jews, however, Bernie Madoff was judged for what he had personally done, and his morals was not applied to the entire jewish community. We have to aggressively fight this double standard within the legal system.
    As far as the radio show mentioned in the article… It is so ironic and hypocritical for a Turk to say that Armenians have gotten used to this type of scams because they would do it and not get cought…The Turkish government has stolen trillions of dollars worth of assets, lands and properties from the Armenians, by openly killing and steeling from 1.5 million civilians and have so far gotten away with it… Someone should remind cohost Kasparian of that fact. There are crooks in every community, but when you have enemies in the media, your crimes get overly exposed, exagerated and reported.
    Having said that, if these allegations turn out to be true, the Armenian community should severly comdemn them because they do tarnish our reputation and hurt our pride and morale. Shame on them, hazar shame (if they have done it). I think it is also worth conducting a psychological study on how the trauma of the Genocide and the loss of assets/churches/cultural trasures which you cannot put a price on or replace, as well as being years under the oppressive Soviet regime have done to the Armenian psyche.

    Thank you Harut Sassounian for speaking up against this racist unslaought on our people which consists predominantly of law abiding citizens who have contributed so much to this generous country.

  2. With  all due respect, are we really going to take the stance that they are “just accused and haven’t been proven guilty.” Where there is smoke, there is fire. These people did not just get innocently caught up in this scam. They are guilty as sin and we all know it. With that said, I do agree that for the media to keep stressing the “Armenian” aspect of this is reprehensible. And what I am ashamed of is this girl, Kasparian, who calls herself an Armenian. How can an Armenian sit next to a Turk and bash all other Armenians (her statements were not just directed at the criminals)? It’s disgusting to me. I agree with  the previous poster. It’s sad that when other minorities do something, it’s just a crime, it’s not “the Jewish crime ring” or even the “African-American crime ring,” but as soon as the criminals are Armenian, that’s the first word in every headline.

  3. The media is out of line here and Armenians should object to each and every reference to these criminals being Armenian.  If these Armenians are found guilty of what they are accused of, they will simply be crooks, nothing more.  Or should we talk about the Italian gangs, or Mexican, or Irish, or Chinese, or Black, or Russian, or Russian Jews, etc., …

  4. Ana Kasparian–seriously, “The Young Turks”?  What’s the deal?  Weren’t there any openings on the Talaat Pasha Show or the Der Zor Comedy Hour?  There must be other ways to make a living.

  5. Hey Kasparian, you are simply a bad apple that will trash an innocent community for a price. By the way…the word “vor” dos NOT mean “ass”, it means thief in Russian. It’s O.K., it’s not your fault, simply…some people come ignorant by default and you’re one of them.

  6. With all due respect Mr. Sassounian — “alleged?” — who are we kidding? And OJ Simpson is innocent of the murders… Please don’t patronize your readers. Do you actually believe that? Sweeping these sort of things under the rug won’t make it go away. As for Ms. Kasparian, and the Internet show that she is on, you shouldn’t pass judgment without knowing a lot more about what the show is all about. It’s a hard-hitting comedy show with equal opportunity insults. Give her the benefit of the doubt.  You don’t know if she is the descendent of a Genocide survivor or not. As for the reference, and association of the word Armenian to these [alleged] criminals by the media, it simply means that they have ties to Armenia. And yes we hear a lot about Russian mob, Italian mob, Irish mob, Islamic/Palestinian terrorists… All journalists are not cut from the same cloth. Some do their job right some don’t. Don’t generalize all media. I do not believe the media is singling us out as though it’s a conspiracy.  We have to get out of the eastern/Asian (as in the continent) group-think mentality that we/I am responsible for the acts of other Armenians, or that their actions is a reflection on me. Each individual is responsible for his/her own actions. If you are so sensitive to our good reputation being sullied, then write a column condemning these [alleged] criminals.

  7. Ana Kasparian blogged a thoughtful and apologetic comment on the TYT website today.  You should read it.   I think it is fine for people to voice their objections to the comments made (which were careless and hurtful, coming from an Armenian) but let’s not make the criticism personal.
    But, I personally wonder how she can say “I work for The Young Turks” without throwing up a little each time she does; regardless of the other meaning of the phrase.  Just curious.

  8. there is an armenian saying, “amen tun uni mi zugaran” (every house has a toilet).

    my fellow armenians, stop being so sensitive,  a few criminals here and there cannot tarnish our golden reputation, these few isolated incidences pail in comparison to what non-armenians have done throughout the ages,

    it is ironic that a turk with a pile of feces of shameful history is drawing attention to an armenian crime. she should have left the room declining to comment on this story…

  9. Recently a Madoff (Jew) pulled one in the Wall Street realm, and when he did I tried to understand how  he accomplished it.  New money replacing the old… I think.. it must have been clever since I’d not figured it… not being a financial whiz…
    Too, some Armenians are “alleged” to have pulled one… on the Medicare system, well, 
    this too is something that the Medicare system has had to contend… no surprise, the methods may have been different… the result the same… clever set up, cleverly planned and except for the doctor/patient connections (silly error) they probably still would be ‘enjoying’ the profits…  and yet, maybe the ‘goof’ was intended…. Manooshag
     

  10. Ahmet… you need to seek professional help… cause you have no idea what you are talking about…

    Raymond- no matter how you spin it, the generalization is indeed visible and very strong when it comes to Armenians.. why is it that when Armenians do GREAT THINGS or we have GREAT and IMPORTANT NEWS to share, the media shys away from it.. but the minute an Armenian does something wrong.. THE ENTIRE COUNTRY reads about it.. i say it is pure hypocracy..

    I do not approve what these individuals did and if they are guilty they will get punished.. it is not up to you or me to decide that.. just because they are caught, it does not mean they are guilty.. we will leave that up to the law…

    However, I personally feel like i am part of this as much as any Armenian.. we are already small in numbers and for years we struggled to survive, including the Genocide, Artsagh War, the Earthquake, being under Russian power for years, Independence followed with aweful living conditions, no jobs, no hopes of future in people’s lives, corruprt govt…ect..we turned to each other for support for many years, our togetherness is what makes us feel being part of a community that survived ages..so anything and everything that happens within our community affects all of us..I feel like these individuals are part of my extended family members who commited a crime and it truly makes me sad…. no matter how much we say we should separate ourselves from them and not make it personal.. well.it does not work that way.. at least not for me..don’t get me wrong.. i am not saying these individuals will bring my spirits down forever.. no nono… no.  I know The Armenian strength, the resilience, the commitment, loyalty, hard working and honest attributes that will outshine anyone…and make separates us from others…and I will continue to be jst that but when I read in BOLD that ARMENIAN this and that ..i get very frustrated….I don’t know.. i may be wrong in this but that is my opinion..

    but it truly makes me want to throw up..especially when I see an Armenian working for “The young Turks”  ARE YOU SERIOUS?  does she have an ounce of decency or shame? and this is not for her comments either..but for allowing herself to stoop that low… Boyajian just mentioned that she apologized but that does not solve the matter… to me she is not a true Armenian…sorry…

    Apres Katia jan.. well said..

  11. Show me a race,a nation that does not have its crooks & thieves.
    My Armenian identity is not insulted a bit by these crooks being Armenians.
    The whole of Turkey is established on theft from us.Throughout the world a Turk is known to be a killer,thief,back stabber & whatever they do to erase this image they constantly fail.

  12. Dear Mr. Sassounian

    First off I wish to thank you for bringing this news to all of us and making us aware the US Media’s injustices and bashing out all Armenians this way for a very few peoples’ allegedly wrongdoings.  Secondly, we as a nationality living in the US for as long as over 100 years, producing, cultivating, working hard and intelligently for our hard earned mony, for living in this country as role model citizens of the USA; this must never be tolerated from today’s US Media.  Armenians constitute today more than 1.5 Million in the US, as citizens of the USA.  Therefore we must come together immediately through our political parties and ask the US Media for immediate and sincere apology or they must pay up to all Armenians in the U.S. for defamation of character of our Armenian heritage and of our great race.  This must not be tolerated and we have to see to it that the injustice party(s) is responsible for their unjustifiable behaviours.

  13. A very similar discussion is taking place in this eNewspaper here: http://armenianweekly.com/2010/10/17/letters-kay-mouradian-medicare-fraud/
    I’m impressed at how vocal people are at decrying the media regarding the term “Armenian-Americans”. After all, aren’t we the ones that insist on being called that? Don’t we pride ourselves in our “dual nationalism”?
    Well, this is part and parcel of calling ourselves Armenian-Americans: You have to take the good with the bad.
    Now, as far as Ms. Kasparian goes, the only hurtful and ignorant thing she said in what I read above was “This is what we do”. Hardly. It wasn’t even Mr. Ugyur that said it – it was an Armenian! Once again, we shoot ourselves in our own foot.
    I think it’s a good thing that Ms. Kasparian is on a show that tries to bring Turks and Armenians to the table to discuss their issues. Perhaps by making jokes about ourselves we can see that there is common ground for us to discuss the Genocides. Perhaps.
    I certainly laugh when Jackie Mason makes Jewish jokes and even jokes about the Holocaust. Why can’t we laugh at ourselves? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that our Genocide has not been recognized and the Holocaust has? Well, then maybe we should joke about that! Can’t we joke about the Turkish government and it’s insistence? On its “head in the sand” policies of denial?
    There is nothing a lot worse than sounding “holier than thou” and I’m sorry folks, but that’s how this sounds.
    Btw, LOL at DavidSassoun! Very cute :)

  14. Hye, more I think about it, the more i believe that the alleged Armenians gulity of the crimes against the USA Medicare program – evidently the most clever against all such
    ”crimes’ with which Medicare has had to contend.  Cleverly contrived, enormus dollars involved… the Armenians contrived this ‘route’ to bring to the attention of the USA that the Armenians are a people of great capabilities… and this ‘project’ has certainly caught the attention of the United States of America… The Armenian Genocide recognition by the White House, the Congress and then the addlepated USA State Department has been bandied about – politically – and for some monetarily – but never recognized even
    via President Woodrow Wilson (whose memoriam Turks have attacked) and too, the
    USA State Departments own Ambassador Heny Morgenthau own words are ignored… thus, these Armenians devised this Medicare ‘shakeup” to bring to the attention of the USA that such as a Bryza is an insult to the intelligence of the Armenians, too, that the
    Armenians, a fledgling nation today nearly 20 years, has the brilliance that exceeds that of the Turks whose skills excell in paying exCongressmen to lobby for the Turks lies – and too, Turks skills also excell in perpetrating Genocides – which the USA and the civilized nations of the world remain ‘intimidated’ by the likes of the Turks – AND THE END OF THE CYCLE OF GENOCIDES CONTINUES – TODAY THE KURDS.
    Wake up world – is a Turkey in charge?  A Turkey who knows to bully and create horrors.
    Manooshag

  15. Chris,

    I am in total disagreement with your post above.  There is nothing to joke about the Armenian Genocide when almost all of the Western Armenians were barbarically and atrociously annihilated from the face of this earth.  Most of yours and my grandfathers and great-grandfathers and their families were barbarically and de-humanly annihilated, yet only 22 nations so far had the good morality to accept that fact.  The USA is very unfortunately for 95 years are aligning themselves with the Genocidal Turkish government and especially when they were fully aware of the facts right from the beginning.  I cease to see any humour in it and I wished that you didn’t either.  If one unintelligent individual decides to do so, it is their unintelligent and immorally illogical behaviour; let that not be mine or the majority of my people.

    About the subject of the above matter; I am in complete agreement with Mr. Sassounian who is disturbed by the facts and he is bringing this to our attention.  Please don’t be naiive, you want the Armenian name to be mentioned, but in this case it is being mentioned in an infamous manner; and who wants their whole nationality to be bashed unjustifiably this way?  Not I, and I can see from the above posts that most have the good and the ethcial common sense to align themselves with Mr. Sassounian’s concerns as well as mine.

  16. manooshag, if you have been to Armenia, then you would know that criminality is rampant in the country. These thugs exploit their own people without any misgivings. Have we forgotten Konstatin Grigoryan the father of Armenian Medicare fraud already? These people are a pox on the good name of Armenians. The high level of respect Armenians have earned in California is tarnished by this new breed.  

  17. Ana Kasparian’s parents, if they are really Armenian, should be ashamed of themselves for her hate of all Armenians. She prides herself with putting down the entire Armenian population.

  18. Hi Zebra, I know you meant no harm but what the Young Turks did to Armenians was not a Comedy Hour. The butchering of defenseless people is a serious crime against humanity.
    BTW, with the events in Germany and the speech Merkel gave it would be a total disaster to allow Turkey into the EU.  
    Also, everyone should be writting and calling our leaders to stop the flow of billions & billions of hard earned American tax dollars to Turkey. 

  19. I actually agree with Chris about being able to laugh at ourselves.  It would be a sign that we’ve actually transcended the traumatic impact of the Genocide, a sign that we can, as individuals and as a nation, take account of ourselves, see ourselves in all different lights, even some that make us look pretty damn ugly and backwards and lacking.

  20. Firstly, MADOFF…..Made off…and few now refer to that real BIG SCAM  by a well publisized-all around-media.but it has since then disappeared.Few speak or even remember  it.And hundreds or thousands  of the same category,which is done on paper(without any firearms).So,as Harut justly writes and others also comment likewise this is done by a very small minority(compared to others) why so much FUSS  and Fanfare!!!!
    it clearly shows  what I just posted on another Section-below Monsoian´s Akhtamar issue—No,not related  to Akhtamar, but below that Section as to article published in “The Economist  oct. 16 issue,2010” re New speculated  oil pipeline…very very inteeresting just  read and then try to grasp  that ,some real important forces are at the back  of …”YOU ARE NOT WANTED  HERE”””…see the map  there,ADMIRE  IT…how low can some of these `people get..
    Yes I do agree  harut is on right track,but then again consider,my above hints,as well as Manooshag´s not so palatable  ,but then again  …hints…to those  who simply  as yet are against  Armenian/Armenians and our CAUSE/CASE…think about  it..why so much opposition to a small country recently Independent after 600 yrs  of subjugation by Tyrant usurper..not yet punished  or at the very least  OFFICIALLY CONVICTED  by so called  kind  peoples….those 22 are exceptions  that we should respect and seek more  like them  .We should not any more look search for allies amongst  the BIG.Latter drop us,we do not  wish to accept  b ut  that  is the pURE TRUTH

  21. Oh Please…Give us a break! No due process? Unfair? What do you call what the Armenian diaspora has been doing for the past 100 years to Turkey and all Turks? You can’t have your cake and eat it too! These 53 were caught red-handed stealing from the US taxpayer! That really hits home to Americans (their wallets)! Karma is a bitch, huh! This is just the beginning! Now, it’s our turn to…play! 

  22. To Mr. Raymond,
    Hey there,You do have a strong pen and a sharp and are quick commentator.
    Your above post as to Harut,is partially right,but then think of the following.-
    he is the only one we have so far from this side  of the Atlantic, that -I ´d say-our ex-offico spokesman,that  is interviewed and speaks as such for us.Do you know  of someone else that  is that much capable of doing  it so smoothly and not insultingly.He is indeed a person like any other and should not be thought of as “spotless”,or  if we think thatwise,then all of us have some weak spots or may now and then “forget” one or two points so what?
    Fact  is  I just re read your post and found two important misleading views.-
    1.How can be sure  of these Armenian guys being from Armenia.Do you know that we  had and have Armenian communities in the vast ex-soviet union,say in Kazakstan,Tajigistan ,Rostov, all through the expanse of it..Fact  is recently an Armenian similar money launderer or so was caught in X  country in(Europe) and in the press thereat.Those are more crook-criminal minded and w/lots of practice,than those newly come to these shores from RA.
    2.So you cannot say”simply means they have ties to Armenia”
    3.As to show that Ms.K is acting/performing or as a talk show performer,like somone-yourself too-said it,one cannot judge  by not knowing what that is about.However,she should be closely watched from now on -if like some  right  here- are wondering -you too if she is an Armenian or passes  on as  an Armenian.Simply put,like I wrote in another Section of Armenian weekly,not too long ago,it was officially anounced in European press-Armenian Nor haratch also echoed it that  Turkey declared  that there were 120 of their officers learning Armenian at the highest military academy in Ankara the Armenian language(naturally more  than that about us,what to be sent to the moon?) and one can spesculate  that some women officers are amongst  them….
    To surmise  our official or ex-officio spokesman Harut Sassounian should be considered and accepted  as  our “defensor”…  support  him is  the best I can say….

  23. David,what country does not have its dishonest leaders, its thieves, and more… As a nation Armenia suffers from this as well. 
    -I attribute these insipit and misdirected leaders to having lived and learned from the communist regime of Armenians of the USSR- dishonest/stealing
    -I attribute too, the hundreds of years Armenians as victims of the Turks,
    deprived of their freedoms and their rights – but still the Armenian mentality is superior to the Turk Genociders – still killing, still eliminating peoples…
    Further,
    -Actually, look around, here, the USA allowing the Woodrow Wilson Center to be demeaned and possibly destroyed by Turks’ monies – because he was the
    USA president to speak up and speak out for the Turk treatment of Armenians… today Turk’s are doing an IN YOUR FACE USA-Woodrow Wilson..
    -And, when a incompetent such as a Bryza is to be the USA Ambassador to the Caucasus… actually whom the Turk and the Azeri have selected/chosen!
    – So governments, such as the USA, who were the more nobler amongst nations has stooped to the level of the Turks… politically misdirected… and
    morally – off the wall.  Manooshag

  24. mannoshag, let’s get back on the subject. This latest version of Armenian Medicare exploiters should not have any defenders. Grigoryan stole 20 million dollars from Medicare and got 4 years in jail. Ridiculous! Stop making excuses for these people just because they are Armenian. If guilty, put them away for a long long time. Let the authorities do their job and let every Armenian that wants to come to America live by “our” laws – or else. You seem to want to make these people heroic. For shame!

  25. weren’t some much more important allegations spread by american, british & some european media regarding finding nuclear & killing weapons in Iraq?!?

    just kidding

  26. Conspiracy theories usually follow from a grandiose self-image.  Armenians really like conspiracy theories.  In actuality, we’re not all that important to the rest of the world.  Sad, but true.

  27. ADDENDUM.In my above post ,I referred to “The Economist” Oct.16 issue,2010 re New Oil pipeline speculated.It is on page 64 and word Armenia or at least”Erivan” is not on the tiny -made smaller-area that is only present Armenia.So a non Armenian that does not know what Armenia or Armenian is will surmise  that  we simply do not exist!!!!
    That  is what  we should bear in mind.By trumpeting our Genocide Recognition issue and expecting that the world media pay attn: to it we err tremendously.”YOU ARE NOT WANTED  HERE”,as I wrote is to remind my compatriots  that we should not expect anything from these people  who do not care about us AT ALL!!! and they intentionally overlook the tiny Armenia boxed in between Azerbaijan,Georgia,Iran and great Turkey.So what can we try to do in order to survive amongst  these ,plus those  that support  only the profit -rendering  neighbours around? is the question…I believe  I have an answer  that may be of consolation to my dear compatriots.M I A  P A N V I L ,get the Huge collectivities  of our people working in 15 main Proffessions into their respective Groupings,who will “mervel” get to know ea  other much better,cooperate on noble nationmaking ideas,regardless of creed,pertinency of political idealism and elect their 3-perosn Delegates to the Armenian-dense townships around the globe ,thus realizing actualPARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION and have these ELITE to form the Central Bodies in townships inviting 3 person from ea  Armenian political party and one ea from our Spiritual denominations,Catholic,Presbiteryan and Apostolic to form the REAL CENTRAL BODY os said twonships and then from these to Central Council of Diaspora community countrhy capital to be the Cen tral Council of that country and on…to our 5 Depratment Supreme councilThe Legal political in strasbourg8next to RA delegate,not sitting with him but in same town9.Executive  likewise in NY next to RA ´s U.N delegate, Economic  in Geneva,CH(with 15 offices  of the Professional fields),The social Services and Repatriation directing  in Moscow(next  nearest abroad community9 and Spiritual in st. Etchmiadzin,only one we  have ,but ought to be in conjection with Great House  of Cilicia -as long as we have a pending CASE with great Turkey,yet unsolved.
    Hama Haigaagani SIRO,
    G.P

  28. Robert, hit the nail right on the head.  Armenian criminals scamming Medicare proves once and for all that there was no Armenian genocide.  That’s clear now.  Much in the same way that the arrest of Bernard Madoff finally put to rest all those Holocaust allegations and the imprisonment of O.J. Simpson ended the lies about so-called slavery.

  29. ADDENDUM 2.
    In a hastily written post I could not also have time to mention that  the MAIN OBJECTIVE  of these “professional colleagues  Associxations” would be to establish our own”National Investment Trust Fund” in Geneva,CH.Please note  that same will be perpetual and those  who invest  in it are the 100,000 strong abovve mentiond PCA´s  members-above all the Nucleus of the “Fund” I have suggested ought to be our 5/6  magnates-see my “paper” for near 5  yrs inon the Armenia Diaspora.com Web Page,along with six others´,wherein I “suggest”  that these magnates with inputs  of  couple hundred  million dollars  each would be the Founders with siad working cdapital ,mtheir chosen monetary experts governing  it and then our more  than a hundred millionaires woiuld chip in, ,the those  further lower investments  with less,all the way down to those ranks forming 100,000,eah investing around a thousand dolalrs.This Fund will hopefully render at least 3% to shares invested and rest-experts having re-invested in Sescure Government Bonds, with 5/6% interests earned,difference  to accumulate on capital.Monies  funds  thius derived to LOAN  through RA Central Bank to small and medium entrepreneurs in RA/Artsakh and any  other community country such against mortaged property.it will be a Fund for Armenidad , not just for Armenia/Artsakh,but heavn forbid any community in any country face a catastrophy to aid there.ONE MORE THING,the first ,earned benefits form  huge fund will go to organize a REAL REPATRIATION TO ARMENIA/ARTSAKH,from all communities …Otherwise  by trumpeting “Come to RA”,Ari Tun,which has  been in place anyhjow  for the past 18,19 yrs our kids from Canada,U.S.Frnace etc., already going over  for a stint  of 15 days ..is not REPATRIATION!!!!!
    They are planning yet another Arll Armenian Institution people.guess where and how?
    Do you kid?

  30. It is high time that Armenians realize that there are people out to destroy them.  From recasting the history to forcibly moving them from their homeland and committing genocide.  I am not talking about just the Turks either.  Some of them are self hating Armenians, Armenians who have sold out for money and other nationalities.
    Armenians need what Jewish people created originally in 1913, ADL.  There is a need for an organization dedicated exclusively to fighting against slandering Armenians as a nation, denigrating them and genocide denial.

  31. This is certainly a big scandal and very disturbing/embarrassing to the 95% of Armenians who are law abiding. Nonetheless, an extremely big conspiracy/scale/massive fraud on behalf of Turks is soon to come to light: Fettulah Gulen. The FBI has only just scratched the surface.

  32. This problem that the alleged criminals are said to be of Amenian origin, comes from the fact that because the Armenians stress their Armanianness at every opportunity. The same mistake is often repeated by nations whose members mainly consists of ultra-nationalists or even moderate nationalists. Turks, Greeks, Serbs and some other nations suffer from the same grip. If you say, at every opportunity, that how much you are  proud of your ethnic origin and nationality, in such nasty cases, your ethnic origin will be reminded to you whenever it ocurs.
     
     

  33. Ok, Kim Kardashian is destroying the name of all Armenians and you are getting mad at a women who speaks the truth?
    I don’t know what’s wrong with Armenian-Americans, but you really have to wake up,

  34. So, of course I don’t want the guilty, actually of any crimes, not be punished.  Of course I am not excusing these crimes… what bothers me most is the yellow journalism which identifies the Armenians, and such as a Madoff is not
    shown to be a Jew… (and as well, so many of his ‘victims’ were also Jews…).

    Howsomever, we Armenians surely made the front pages – for the Medicare
    issue – certainly more space than we get when we speak out against the Turkis and the Turkish Genocide of the Armenians… and our seeking to end the cycle of Genocides… forever.
    Manooshag

  35. How RFE reported the arrests. Apparently The United States hasn’t touched base with the Armenian authorities. That says something!

    October 21, 2010
    YEREVAN — Armenia has confirmed that its citizens arrested in the United States last week on charges stemming from a large-scale medical-insurance fraud will be tried in the United States, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reports.

    Officials in Yerevan have not yet revealed how many of the approximately three dozen arrested members of an alleged Armenian-American syndicate — charged with filing some $100 million in fake claims to the U.S. government health-insurance program Medicare — are Armenian citizens.

    Armenian Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian told RFE/RL on October 19 that “based on the available evidence [Armenian citizens] do not constitute a large percentage [of those arrested].”

    “Every person is tried in the country where he or she has committed a crime,” Danielian said, adding that Yerevan could only have prosecuted the Armenian citizens in the group if they had been arrested in their home country.

    “Were these persons in the Republic of Armenia, we would not be obliged to extradite them,” he said. “We would [first] request the files concerning them and conduct a probe.”

    Armenia’s Prosecutor-General’s Office recently expressed its readiness to assist in the investigation of the case.

    It said that in this case Armenia can only assist in the investigation from the territory of Armenia or by sending specialists to the United States if requested by U.S. officials.

    “We have not received any request for legal assistance yet,” Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian told RFE/RL.

  36. @Resoman,when asked I stress my Armenian identity to anybody for the main reason of explaining to them the Armenian Genocide committed by Turks.I’m not an ultra nationalist nor even nationalist. I just want to show the world wherever & whenever I can that a GRAVE INJUSTICE has been committed & it needs to be corrected.I’ve already noticed that my sons are doing the same & I’m so proud of them.
    My murdered ancestors need justice & their souls will not be in peace until we achieve it.

  37. i think this news became outdated!
    let’s talk about the ORIGIN of those who are charged with $200 milion medicare fraud in Miami  looool
    i guess they have no nationality
    if they are not Armenian –> they have no nationality :)

  38. VTiger wrote;
    My murdered ancestors need justice & their souls will not be in peace until we achieve it.
     
    What is the connection here to what I said above? I said something in general not only for Armenians but for all other nations in the area. And you are not alone among those who had lost the family members and relatives. I am one of them as well.
     
     

  39. Resoman:  The difference in the case of Armenians is that our almost entire race that inhabited Eastern Asia Minor for millennia has been deliberately annihilated by the orders of the Ottoman Turkish government. This crime is being increasingly acknowledged by the world as a barbarous act of genocide. Of course Armenians are not alone who had lost the family members and relatives en masse, because all Christian inhabitants such as Pontic Greeks and Assyrians were wiped out by the Turks as well. However, the concentrated and methodical destruction of Armenians was the ugliest Turkish crime. Do not juxtapose wars that Turks fought with foreign powers and lost their lives or inter-communal, inter-ethnic clashes in the Ottoman empire with the centrally-planned and executed Turkish policy of genocide. This cheap Turkish trick is not working and will never work: too much evidence exist in the world archives that prompt many foreign governments and organizations call Turkish things by their name: GENOCIDE.

  40. Resoman you wrote:Quote:This problem that the alleged criminals are said to be of Amenian origin, comes from the fact that because the Armenians stress their Armanianness at every opportunity.Unquote
    I made it very clear as to why I stress my Armenianness & the answer is the Genocide committed by your ancestors & we have been uprooted from our thousands of years of ancestral lands & to this date we are crying for justice.

  41. Mr. Gaytzag Palandjian,
    Your point is well taken. I am well aware of Mr. Sassounian’s contributions to our nation, and he certainly is an accomplished man in every respect of the word. However when I see a man of such caliber, who people respect and follow (almost blindly), being blinded by his nationalistic views (as in we Armenians don’t do ant wrong), especially in view of overwhelming evidence (as in a most cosmopolitan city like greater LA, where we are but a tiny minority, somehow we have managed to garner a reputation as armo crooks, in a very short period of time… and yes after the collapse of the Soviet Union), then I believe pieces such as this can undermine his credibilty, and reputation as an unbiased journalist. I owe it to him to express my counterpoint to his. Whether he finds it worthy or not that is his business. A respected journalist like Mr. Sassounian should not generalize ALL media as being biased towards Armenians. I first read the news on Yahoo, and then AOL, and the headlines did not mention the word Armenian. They simply said something to the effect that “Feds arrest 44 people in largest-ever Medicare Fraud bust”. However my first reaction was “god please don’t let them be Armenians”, because there are plenty of other examples like this that you can find in the [LA area] papers (not at this scale). Seems like those from former Soviet Union are very apt in defrauding the government(s). Anyway as for Ms. Kasparian, she is an American Armenian and speaks English. So your point about her being a Turkish operative who has learned Armenian does not apply to her. She is a comedian, and that is what comedians do. She has since issued an apology for her less than judicious remarks. As for the criminals having ties to Armenia… The FBI is seeking the cooperation of Armenian authorities in this matter.

  42. If the perpetrators are guilty (as determined by the courts) they should be sentenced as any other criminal. Do we identify other criminals as Jewish, Mexican, or German? The press often identifies Arabs or Muslims when they are charged with a crime, I guess they decided to throw one more ethnicity into the soup pot.
    I am more furious with Ana Kasparian. It’s bad enough you can’t seem to get any other employment other than co-hosting a show with a Turk but do you have to put down your own people and let this Turk mock us in front of you? Shame on you! Go get a real job.

  43. Hi Mike Mirakian,
    Re:
    > Do we identify other criminals as Jewish, Mexican, or German?
    ———————
    Yes “we” do, if they have ties to criminal gangs in Israel, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Russia, Ireland, etc.
     
    Rest assured if these Armenians were born here in US they would not be identified by their ethnicity, because they would be considered Americans.

  44. Would Mr. Sassounian still have used the phrase “innocent until proven guilty” if these alleged criminals had been Turks or Azeris?

  45. Boyajian,

    I think you are right. I also read Zebra’s comment as sarcasm. Simply because an individual or a small group of Armenians, Jews, or Blacks commits crime, does it prove that no crime was committed against the whole nation/race/humanity?   

  46. Boyajian,you are right & it is sarcasm & I apologise to zebra.He can put on his striped pyjamas back.

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