Fraud prevention expert charged with over 167 suspected incidents of healthcare fraud
A speaker on the topic of fraud prevention has been charged with submitting 167 fraudulent medical claims to her employer's self-insured health plan—an irony that was not lost on California prosecutors who announced the charges on Friday.
Faranak Firozan, 47, worked as a security manager for technology giant Nvidia and regularly spoke at industry events on fraud mitigation, particularly within financial institutions. Citing her LinkedIn profile, prosecutors said Firozan was an "expert in abuse prevention systems" and provided training on "cyber laundering" in collaboration with the Information Systems Security Association, a nonprofit organization for cybersecurity professionals.
The district attorney handling the case alleged that between November 2020 and January 2024, Firozan submitted bogus claims through Nvidia’s health plan, with dates not matching the services she received. In some cases, the medical bills appear to be entirely made up, the DA said.
“Providers verified that services listed in her claims were either not performed at all or were duplicated claims,” the DA’s office wrote when announcing the indictment. The alleged fraud totals more than $100,000.
In August 2024, Cigna—which manages Nvidia’s employer health plans—submitted a notice of suspected fraudulent claims from Firozan to the California Department of Insurance. Reported issues were first flagged by the insurer in October 2023, the DA said, after Firozan submitted a large number of billable medical claims in a single month.
Prosecutors added that many of the submitted medical bills allegedly contained handwritten codes—an unusual occurrence that prompted further investigation. Firozan was officially charged on June 13, 2025.
“It’s crucial for everyone, especially those who are experts in fraud prevention, to uphold the same standards they promote,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the statement. “We are grateful for our partners in this investigation that brought this serious matter to light.”
Firozan is scheduled to be arraigned on July 15. She has not been convicted of a crime and remains innocent until proven guilty.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.