A friend of New York's former mayor faces serious charges

A close friend of the former mayor of New York, Eric Adams, has run into legal trouble once again. Zhan Petrosyants, also known as Johnny, has been charged with taking part in a widespread scheme to defraud health insurance companies and launder money. The charges involve submitting fake claims for medical services, often after car accidents, under New York’s "no-fault" insurance law. The scheme allegedly billed insurers for treatments that were never provided or weren’t necessary, using names of medical professionals who didn’t even work there. This isn’t the first time Petrosyants has faced such charges. Back in 2014, he and his twin brother, Robert, both pleaded guilty to financial crimes tied to fake insurance claims. The brothers had connections to the former mayor, though neither Robert nor Adams is involved in this latest case. Robert told reporters he wasn’t connected to the new allegations, saying he didn’t even understand what it was about.The federal indictment accuses Petrosyants of working with others to cheat auto insurance companies out of millions. The charges include aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, health care fraud, and money laundering. FBI agents arrested him the night before the indictment was made public. Currently, he’s being held without bail while his legal team prepares a defense. While this case unfolds, questions linger about how these schemes operate. New York’s "no-fault" insurance system was designed to speed up claims for accident victims, but fraud remains a persistent problem. Prosecutors argue that scams like this drive up costs for everyone by abusing trust in the system.