LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced what they called a major health care fraud takedown throughout Southern California, which included the arrest of doctors and nurses.<\/p>\n
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli was joined during a press conference by several law enforcement agencies including the FBI, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<\/p>\n
They said they served a series of search and arrest warrants throughout the region, from Covina to Lakewood in Los Angeles County. Eight people were arrested and more than a dozen are being charged for suspected health fraud.<\/p>\n
They also mentioned fraudulent hospice care.<\/p>\n
“These defendants recruited beneficiaries who were not terminally ill, and paid them to pose as patients receiving hospice care. Medicare then paid millions of dollars – hundreds of millions of dollars – on false and fraudulent claims submitted by fraudsters,” said Essayli.<\/p>\n
Among those arrested were a Covina couple. Prosecutors said 66-year-old psychologist Gladwin Gill and his wife, Amelou Gill, a registered nurse, operated a fraudulent hospice business out of Glendale.<\/p>\n
“This particular hospice submitted more than $5.2 million in fraudulent claims, and Medicare actually paid out more than $4 million,” Essayli said.<\/p>\n
Gill’s attorney told our sister station, ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles, he denies the allegations and looks forward to his day in court.<\/p>\n
Oz announced a broader review of hospice providers in the state.<\/p>\n
“We’re going to review every single hospice in California to make sure that they’re all appropriate, and we hope to do that expeditiously. We’ll do it this year,” Oz said.<\/p>\n
During the news conference, federal authorities were questioned about a video California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in January his office was reviewing. In that video, Oz, who is Turkish American, was shown standing in front of an Armenian-owned bakery in Van Nuys while alleging widespread fraud in the area.<\/p>\n
Essayli confirmed that none of the defendants named Thursday were connected to that video. Oz responded to outcry that his accusations, which the business owner denounced as false, were discriminatory.<\/p>\n
“I was stating the facts as they’ve been explained to me, and we have a lot of evidence of where the fraud is, just looking at the numbers,” Oz said.<\/p>\n
Oz did not provide any evidence against a specific business in connection to that video. He suggested that half of Los Angeles County hospice care facilities are fraudulent, pointing to survival percentages as evidence.<\/p>\n
“World experts at CMS say if you’ve got 100% or near survival, certainly if you’ve got a survival over 50% for population that’s supposed to have passed in six months, you’ve got a problem,” he said.<\/p>\n
Newsom responded to accusations that California had not done enough to address hospice fraud, saying in part, “The Trump Administration – home to the biggest fraudsters on Earth – is trying to blame California for issues with THEIR federal programs.”<\/p>\n
His press office said the state has taken action for years, including suspending more than 280 licenses and banning new ones.
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