California DOJ just conducted the biggest hospice fraud bust in state history.

California DOJ just conducted the biggest hospice fraud bust in state history.

Last week we took down a hospice fraud ring in Los Angeles County responsible for defrauding Medi-Cal and the state of California of $267 million. We arrested five individuals so far and filed felony criminal charges against 21 suspects.

The perpetrators behind this scheme used stolen identities bought on the dark web, created 14 fake hospice companies, and billed California’s Medicaid system for nonexistent services for people who had no idea they were enrolled and did not receive a single service.

This was a brazen, calculated criminal scheme that exploited Medi-Cal, stole taxpayer dollars, and prevented services and care from going to sick individuals who actually need it. California DOJ, in partnership with the California Department of Health Care Services, put an end to it.

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This takedown is just the latest example of California DOJ’s longstanding and ongoing efforts to combat hospice fraud. Don’t just take my word for it, look at the numbers:

Just since I came into this office in 2021, California DOJ has conducted 294 hospice-related investigations, filed 119 hospice-related criminal cases, and secured 51 hospice-related convictions. More information about this work can be found on our hospice fraud website.

And that’s just talking hospice fraud. DOJ’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse — an entire division devoted to snuffing out healthcare fraud — has recovered a total of $1.54 billion in Medi-Cal fraud cases over the last decade.

While President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Dr. Oz seem to have just woken up to the reality of healthcare fraud, the truth is our team of agents, investigators, and prosecutors has been on the ground, in the field, and arresting and prosecuting fraudsters who see our public program as their piggy banks for years.

This isn’t a political game for us. This is about safeguarding public funds, protecting the public trust, serving our residents, and delivering programs that dying and vulnerable Californians need.

While the Trump Administration exploits healthcare fraud to score political points, my team will be here, sleeves rolled up, heads down, actually eradicating fraud and holding anyone who targets our state systems accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

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