Eight defendants, including three nurses, a chiropractor and a purported psychologist, have been arrested on federal charges alleging they schemed to defraud the healthcare system out of more than $50 million, the Justice Department said in an April 2 news release.
The arrests, made in coordination with the Vice President’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, center primarily on a series of sham hospice care facilities in the Los Angeles area that billed Medicare for patients who were not terminally ill. Among the cases:
- Lolita Minerd, a licensed vocational nurse, allegedly submitted more than $9.1 million in fraudulent hospice claims through her Artesia,, Calif.-based Topanga Hospice Care, which had a non-death discharge rate of approximately 85%, nearly five times the national average.
- Gladwin Gill, a purported psychologist, and his wife Amelou Gill, RN, allegedly submitted more than $5.2 million in fraudulent claims through their Glendale-based 626 Hospice laundering proceeds for personal expenses.
- Nita Palma, who has been convicted for healthcare fraud three times, and her husband Adolfo Catbagan allegedly operated three fraudulent hospice facilities, including while Ms. Palma was free on bond awaiting a separate hospice fraud trial.
- Four additional defendants face charges in a separate $19 million scheme to defraud a labor union health plan through fraudulent chiropractic and physical therapy claims. All charges are allegations only, and no determination of liability has been made.
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