A Los Angeles County-based vocational nurse was arrested last Friday on charges referred to as “white-collar crimes” by state prosecutors, after they say she stole more than $1.5 million from Medi-Cal.
Mariafe Concepcion Garcia, 58, was arrested by the California Attorney General’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud on May 1, after a felony warrant was issued for her arrest by a Los Angeles-based superior court judge on April 27.
Garcia was initially booked into custody at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s West Hollywood station the morning of May 1 before being transferred to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood that evening.
According to a warrant request submitted by the attorney general’s office, Garcia is alleged to have obtained $1,513,062 from Medi-Cal under false pretenses. Prosecutors say she fraudulently billed the state’s low-cost health care system for hospice services between Dec. 1, 2020 and March 31, 2024.
Additionally, prosecutors believe Garcia was the ring leader of this alleged insurance fraud scheme, as the state’s warrant request alludes Garcia “induced others to participate in the commission of the crime or occupied a position of leadership or dominance of other participants in its commission.”
Garcia would be ineligible for probation following any potential conviction, citing a state law that denies probation if thefts valued at more than $100,000 occurred, according to the warrant.
State licensing records show Garcia has been a licensed vocational nurse, with certifications for IV therapy and blood withdrawal, since April 2008. Her license remains current and active.
Garcia is expected to appear in court again on the morning of May 15.
Attempts to reach an attorney representing Garcia by NBCLA have been unsuccessful.