Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly misled the Armenian public by making false promises since coming to power in 2018.
To preserve his seat, Pashinyan has used three ploys:
1) Promise the gullible people a rosy future using the slogan, “There is a future” (abaka ga);
2) Exploit the naïve public’s blind trust by making false promises;
3) Blame all his errors and the country’s current problems on former leaders, even though he has been in charge for eight years.
Whenever anyone points out his mistakes and deceitful promises, Pashinyan either denies ever making such statements or dodges the question. His excuse is that, since the people elected him, he can do whatever he wants, even though he never told his electors that he would hand over Artsakh to Azerbaijan and relinquish part of Armenia’s territories to the enemy state.
Since the parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on June 7, Pashinyan is once again busy misleading the public. He and his ministers exaggerate their accomplishments, and act as if Armenia did not exist before 2018, when they came to power.
In order to fool the public, Pashinyan described in 2020 what his imaginary Armenia would look like in 2050, knowing full well that neither he nor his political party will be around by then. He called the plan “A Development Strategy for Armenia until 2050.”
His plan for 2050 is no different from many of his other fake promises. According to the well-known saying, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Armenia’s citizens must finally wake up and realize that they are being deceived repeatedly by their incompetent but cunning leader.
Here is the list of Pashinyan’s 18 unrealistic goals to be accomplished by 2050:
• Increase Armenia’s population to at least five million.
• Create 1.5 million jobs.
• Overcome poverty through work.
• Increase Armenia’s GDP 20-fold.
• Increase the average salary seven-fold.
• Make a healthy lifestyle a national chracteristic; increase life expectancy to 90 years.
• Have the world’s most combat-ready army per capita.
• Have one of the 10 most efficient intelligence services in the world.
• Make learning a national way of life.
• Have at least three universities among the world’s top 200 ranked universities.
• Turn Armenia into a high-tech industrial country.
• Have at least five high-tech companies valued at $10 billion or more and at least 10,000 operating startups.
• Ensure a healthy environment; make Armenia climate-resilient and energy-efficient.
• Double Armenia’s forested areas.
• Win 25 Olympic gold medals.
• Make the Armenian national football team the winner of the European and/or World Championship.
• Win the title of world individual chess champion.
• Increase to 15 million the annual number of tourists visiting Armenia.
Many of these 18 goals are unattainable. Six years after Pashinyan’s announcement, there has been hardly any progress. Even though there is nothing wrong with having personal or national goals, to achieve them one needs to take the following steps:
1) Set realistic goals with a reasonable chance of success. Rather than getting up on a stage and saying whatever comes to mind, there needs to be an in-depth study before making haphazard public announcements.
2) Ask experts to develop a detailed, realistic, and achievable plan of action. The head of government must first consult specialists in various fields to develop a roadmap for getting the country from here to there.
3) Provide a timeline and incremental milestones. It is not enough to state what you want to achieve by 2050. The government must have a detailed plan that specifies actions to be taken each year until 2050.
4) Include the public in setting national priorities. The Prime Minister should not ignore the will of the people and singlehandedly decide what is best for citizens. He should organize local conferences in each region to ask the public what they would like to see accomplished by 2050. The government should also conduct public polls to obtain reliable data about citizens’ interests.
5) Most importantly, ensure competent leadership now. Before worrying about 2050 — or even 2026 — the country must have a competent leader. Armenia’s citizens have the opportunity in this June’s parliamentary elections to decide who can best lead the country now. Otherwise, they may not have a country by 2050.
Anar Rustamov formed a fake durable medical equipment company, or “DME” to fraudulently bill taxpayer funded Medicare for $90 million in supplies that were not needed or received according to DOJ officials.
Rustomov’s San Francisco Bay Area company Dublin Helping Hands was submitting the claims the Feds say.
The listed patients were unaware of the submissions and the referring medical provider listed did not authorize the claims, according to the indictment.
The claims listed everything from back braces to glucose monitors.
The fraudulent activity took place from October of 2024 and peaked in April of 2025 when the company submitted claims totaling more than $49 million.
“The billing volume and timing was designed to maximize the amount of money paid out before the fraud was detected,” the indictment said.
Rustamov is a wanted man, and officials believe he’s on the run. Special agent Robb R. Breeden said the agency will “pursue those who attempt to exploit federal health care programs — no matter where they attempt to hide.”
If convicted, Rustomov faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each violation.
— April 15th Capitol Hill Commemoration and Congressional Staff Briefing will Link 1915 and 1923 Genocides to Present-Day Armenian Security and Artsakh’s Right of Return
WASHINGTON, DC –
Members of Congress will join with Armenian Americans and allies from across the United States on Wednesday, April 15th for the annual Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide observance and a Congressional briefing challenging the failure of theArmenia-Azerbaijan peace process to address Turkey and Azerbaijan’s unanswered crimes against the Armenian nation.The Capitol Hill program opens with a 1:00 p.m. Congressional briefing, “Peace Without Justice in the South Caucasus,” hosted by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) in Cannon HOB Room 130. Later that evening, the Armenian Genocide Congressional Commemoration – titled “Armenian Genocide: From Remembrance to Responsibility | Justice for a Century of Genocide | Armenia | Artsakh | 1915-2023” – will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Rayburn HOB Foyer.
Both events will be live webcast on ANCA social media channels.
“Remembrance – a moral imperative, necessary to combat denial – is a requirement of truth. Truth in the service of justice; justice in the service of security – the key to lasting peace,”said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “On April 15th, the Armenian American community and our Congressional allies will reaffirm our collective commitment to justice – the release of Armenian hostages, the return of Artsakh refugees, and the restoration of desecrated Christian holy sites.”
Capitol Hill Armenian and Artsakh Genocide Observance
The evening Congressional Armenian Genocide Commemoration is co-hosted by the ANCA and the Armenian Assembly of America, in cooperation with the Congressional Armenian Caucus. It marks the most recent iteration of a decades-long tradition of annual Capitol Hill observances dating back to the first Capitol Hill commemoration, in 1965, marking the 50th anniversary of this crime.
This year’s program comes as Turkey and Azerbaijan’s genocidal crimes against the Armenian nation – from 1915 to 2023 – remain unaddressed and ongoing. Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives, including Artsakh leaders, continue to languish in Azerbaijani detention. More than 150,000 Artsakh Armenians remain forcibly displaced from their homes. And Azerbaijan continues to occupy sovereign Armenian territory while pressing demands designed to foreclose any prospect of justice, accountability, or return.
Bus transportation to the Rayburn HOB Foyer is available, departing from Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church, 4906 Flint Drive, Bethesda, MD 20816, at 4:30 p.m. Buses will return immediately after the program. To reserve a spot, email rsvp@anca.org or call Elizabeth Chouldjian at (703) 585-8254.
Capitol Hill Staff Briefing: Peace without Justice in the South Caucasus
The 1:00 p.m. briefing is open to congressional staff and members of the public and will offer an expert assessment of the outstanding humanitarian and security issues that risk undermining any just and durable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In August 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev initialed a draft peace agreement at the White House. While presented as a diplomatic breakthrough, the agreement drew immediate concern from human rights and security experts for its failure to address critical unresolved issues — including the release of Armenian prisoners of war, the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from sovereign Armenian territory, the protection of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh, and the right of return for the more than 150,000 Armenians forcibly displaced from their homes in 2023.
The White House summit also announced the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” – or TRIPP – a proposal under which Armenia would grant a U.S.-operated consortium exclusive development and management rights over a multi-modal transport corridor connecting Azerbaijan to its exclave Nakhichevan and onward to Turkey, under a 49-year lease extendable to 99 years.
The briefing will feature a round table discussion with two subject-matter experts
Dr. Robert Krikorian: Retired Senior State Department Official with more than two decades as an intelligence analyst and senior adviser in State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and Ph.D. in History and Eurasian Studies from Harvard University.
Karnig Kerkonian, Esq.: International Human Rights Lawyer and founding partner of Kerkonian Dajani LLP, with expertise in complex litigation, international sanctions regimes, and public international law; J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School; Diploma in Public International Law from Cambridge University.
To register for the 1:00pm briefing, visit anca.org/rsvp.
ANCA Legislative Priorities
The ANCA continues to press Congress to take concrete action alongside any peace process, advancing three key pieces of bipartisan legislation:
The Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act of 2025 (H.R.5369), led by Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), directs the Trump-Vance Administration to review the applicability of Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for war crimes, human rights abuses, and the ongoing illegal detention of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives.
The ARMENIA Security Partnership Act (H.R.6840), led by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), would prohibit the president from waiving Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan unless the Aliyev regime takes concrete steps toward a lasting peace with Armenia.
The Armenian Genocide Education Act (H.R.2585), led by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and joined by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Ted Lieu (D-CA), and David Valadao (R-CA), directs the Library of Congress to implement a nationwide education program about the genocide committed by the Ottoman Turkish Government from 1915 to 1923 against Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians.
Armenian Americans and allies are encouraged to contact their Senators and Representatives to encourage them to attend the April 15th events and to visit anca.org/action for the latest advocacy resources.
California is being investigated by a powerful congressional committee after the Post exposed rampant hospice fraud that’s cost taxpayers more than $100 million.
The House Oversight Committee sent shockwaves across the Golden State on Monday after launching the bombshell probe into widespread Medicare fraud on the West Coast.
The investigation comes off the back of the Post’s revelations multiple “ghost” hospices were allegedly billing the government while operating from buildings that have been abandoned for years.
The secret network included empty storefronts, auto parts shops and other offices that were not in use, while other addresses did not exist at all.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee demanded all documents and communications relating to audits and oversight of federally-funded hospice programs be handed over.
Chair James Comer sent a damning letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, claiming the state has a “well-documented history of fraud in its hospice programs” and estimated the total amount at over $105 million.
The letter said: “Recent reporting has revealed alarming evidence of fraudulent activity in California’s hospice programs, including agencies overbilling Medicare and fraudulently enrolling beneficiaries without their knowledge.”
It added: “The Committee is concerned your administration does not have sufficient internal controls to prevent and detect fraud and is not conducting proper oversight of these hospice programs.
“As a result, Americans across the country are paying for California’s rampant hospice fraud and vulnerable patients are being exploited.”
The committee said its auditors estimate LA County hospice providers overbilled Medicare by at least $105 million in a single year, adding it had seen a 1,500% increase in registrations since 2010 — resulting in more than 2,800 providers across the state.
A Post investigation earlier this month obtained data detailing hundreds of suspect hospices and home agencies across the state, with numerous instances of agencies listed at the same location.
St Rita’s Home Health, which data shows billed Medicare about $4.3 million between 2019 and the first-half of 2025, was registered to a vacant Van Nuys strip mall with a “for rent” sign outside.
A similar story was about six miles away in North Hollywood, where another building that was listed as operating 12 hospice and home health agencies had the same sign hanging out front.
The Post contacted several of the companies allegedly operating inside the building.
One hung up when asked to confirm its location, another said it moved — despite still being listed on the CDPH database at the North Hollywood address — and a third went to a voicemail for ”Alexander from Southern California Auto.”
One alleged hospice fraudster had the audacity to show off her $4 million Carmel-by-the-Sea home for a news outlet just days before being arrested and charged with stealing $3.2 million from Medicare.
The Post’s findings were consistent with what whistleblowers and industry insiders have described elsewhere — an epidemic of medical scams, particularly in and around Los Angeles.
Dr Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, told the Post earlier this month: “Thirty to 40% of all the hospices in America are in Los Angeles, so there’s just no way they are all legitimate.”
He swiftly cut off payments to suspicious operations across the city and said every hospice in the state was under investigation.
California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton told the Post: “‘Until I’m governor next January, it’s only through federal investigation and enforcement that we can expect real accountability for Gavin Newsom, who falsely claims that he’s cleaned up hospice fraud in California.”
Newsom came out swinging after the investigation was announced, claiming a moratorium he imposed in 2021 stopped “bad actors” entering the system.
A spokesman said: “In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation placing a moratorium on new hospice licenses – a policy that remains in effect today, preventing bad actors from entering the system while strengthening oversight of existing providers.
“This work is delivering results, as more than 280 hospice licenses have been revoked over the past two years and an additional 300 providers are under investigation.
“The state continues to take coordinated action to suspend Medi-Cal payments, revoke licenses, and pursue prosecutions.”
Experienced hospice provider Kevin Tutunjian, founder of In the Arms of Grace Hospice, acknowledged fraud exists but defended the industry.
He said: “Blatant fraud is someone who just bills Medicare without the individual knowing. That is one thing.”
“But there are organizations trying to do the right thing, but maybe they just are ill-equipped to deliver quality care for whatever reason.”
The House committee has asked Newsom to provide records related to anti-fraud practices, audits, Medicare billing and other information by April 6.
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