Taxpayers Win Big as White House Fraud Task Force Takes Down California’s Hospice Grifters [WATCH]

Federal authorities arrested multiple individuals in Southern California as part of an investigation into alleged health care fraud involving hospice services, marking the first major enforcement action by the White House Fraud Task Force.

The arrests took place across the greater Los Angeles area, including Covina and Glendale, following an investigation into what officials say was a scheme to defraud taxpayers of millions of dollars intended for end-of-life care.

“This morning, federal law enforcement conducting raids across Southern California targeting alleged health care fraudsters.

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William La Jeunesse has more from Covina, California, that’s just east of LA you’ve been on this story for a while. What happened?” Dana Perino said during coverage of the operation.

Correspondent William La Jeunesse reported that two hospice operators were taken into custody as part of the coordinated action.

“Good morning, Dana, yeah, this is the first take down for the new White House fraud Task Force. They arrested two owners of two hospices here in Greater Los Angeles. They’re accused of collectively stealing about $16 million from taxpayers, and this money was intended for compassionate end of life care for the terminally ill,” La Jeunesse said.

According to authorities, one of the primary targets was a husband-and-wife team who co-owned St. Francis Palliative Care Hospice in Glendale.

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The man is a doctor and the woman a nurse, and investigators say they admitted patients who did not qualify for hospice services and billed the federal government as if they were eligible.

“Here’s some video we shot earlier today of the FBI making those arrests of a husband and wife, he a doctor, she a nurse, co owners of the St Francis palliative care hospice in Glendale, and what they were doing was this, admitting people who are not qualified for hospice, but build the government as if they were about $30,000 per patient. When the benefits ran out, they dropped them,” La Jeunesse said.

Officials pointed to national hospice data to highlight irregularities in the case. Hospice care is typically reserved for terminally ill patients, with most deaths occurring within weeks of admission.

In this case, investigators said the vast majority of patients were leaving the program alive after extended periods.

“Here’s the kicker, nationally, 80% of adults admitted, or people admitted to hospice die, and usually in the first few weeks here, almost nobody died after eight months, 97% left alive,” La Jeunesse said.

Bill Essayli, who is involved in the case, detailed the alleged scope of the fraud tied to the Glendale operation.

“They’ve been bilking the taxpayers for over $7 million close to $8 million and it’s told all total, fraudulent hospice services. They were signing up people who are not terminally, terminally ill. They were forging the documents, the medical records, and they were collecting taxpayer dollars, and they’ve been charged, and this morning, they were arrested,” Essayli said.

Authorities also described a second case involving Topanga Hospice, where similar practices were alleged.

Investigators said patients were paid monthly to enroll in hospice programs, allowing operators to bill the federal government for services they were not eligible to provide.

“Here’s another arrest down in Topanga hospice, and here they were paying kickbacks to the patients, giving them $600 a month in an envelope. That’s because they were getting reimbursed from the feds about $6,000 a month. Now they are also paying marketers to find seniors and take their Medicare card. They billed the government for about $8 million not eligible and they were not terminally ill,” La Jeunesse said.

Dr. Oz referenced the broader scheme tied to the cases, describing how the operations functioned.

“The name of this endeavor has been a project never say die, because the folks who are in the nursing in the hospice facilities owned by this couple and their family don’t seem to ever pass away,” Dr. Oz said.

La Jeunesse added that federal authorities are focusing on systemic issues tied to hospice licensing and oversight in California.

“So the feds are here for a reason. California is giving out 1000s of lost hospice licenses to people are unqualified, no oversight, and of course, taxpayers been paying it for it ever since,” he said.

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The investigation remains ongoing as federal officials continue reviewing evidence and pursuing additional enforcement actions related to hospice fraud schemes.

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