<p>The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged a San Jose fraud prevention expert with submitting more than 150 fraudulent healthcare claims for over $100,000 against her tech company’s health plan.</p>
<p>Faranak Firozan,<strong> </strong>47, faces numerous felony charges, including altering medical records with fraudulent intent and preparing false statements in connection with insurance claims. She also faces an Aggravated White-Collar Crime Enhancement. Firozan will be arraigned on July 15, 2025, in Department 23, at 1:30 p.m.,<strong> </strong>at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. If convicted, she could face years in prison and would be ordered to pay any outstanding restitution.</p>
<p>Firozan was a senior manager of privacy and security at NVIDIA and regularly spoke as an expert on fraud prevention. She is accused of submitting 167 fraudulent claims, many of which were entirely made-up, between November 2020 and January 2024 to NVIDIA’s self-insured health plan, which is administered by Cigna.</p>
<p>“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. “We are grateful for our partners in this investigation that brought this serious matter to light.”</p>
<p>Firozan’s scheme was unraveled through subpoenas, provider interviews, and bank records in a joint investigation by the DA’s Bureau of Investigations (BOI) and the California Department of Insurance (CDI).</p>
<p>In August 2024, CDI 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. Many of the claims featured handwritten codes.</p>
<p>“Insurance fraud drives up costs for everyone and erodes trust in the system,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “When someone entrusted with preventing fraud is accused of committing it, that betrayal must be met with accountability. I commend our investigators and the Santa Clara County DA’s Office for their strong partnership in this case.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>On her LinkedIn page, Firozan described herself as an expert in abuse prevention systems and fraud investigations for financial institutions. In 2020, she provided training on cyber laundering for the Information Systems Security Association Silicon Valley Chapter.</p>

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