{"id":251538,"date":"2026-04-04T11:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T11:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/251538\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T11:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T11:31:14","slug":"feds-bust-50m-california-hospice-fraud-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/251538\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds Bust $50M California Hospice Fraud Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AnFederal raids expose a sprawling California hospice fraud scheme that allegedly stole over $50 million from Medicare.Anaheim Today<\/p>\n

Federal authorities launched ‘Operation Never Say Die,’ a series of raids targeting a sprawling health care fraud network in California. Eight people were arrested, including three nurses, a chiropractor, and a psychologist, all facing charges for allegedly scamming more than $50 million from Medicare through fraudulent hospice agencies.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

This case highlights the systemic issue of health care fraud, particularly in the hospice industry, where bad actors exploit a program designed to provide comfort to the dying. The scale of the alleged fraud, involving over $50 million in false claims, underscores the need for stronger oversight and accountability in the health care system.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The raids focused on fraudulent hospice agencies that allegedly exploited the Medicare hospice benefit. Authorities say the agencies would fabricate medical records to make patients appear terminally ill when they were not, allowing the agencies to continue receiving Medicare payments. The investigation uncovered a family-run fraud scheme, as well as a thrice-convicted fraudster who allegedly opened new agencies while out on bond.<\/p>\n

Federal authorities launched the coordinated raids on Thursday, April 4, 2026 at 6 a.m.The alleged fraud scheme spanned from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2025.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Gladwin Gill<\/p>\n

A 66-year-old man charged with health care fraud for allegedly submitting $5.2 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare through a hospice agency operated under his daughter’s name.<\/p>\n

Amelou Gill<\/p>\n

Gladwin Gill’s 70-year-old wife, also charged with health care fraud for the alleged $5.2 million scheme.<\/p>\n

Nita Palma<\/p>\n

A 76-year-old woman with three prior convictions for health care fraud, who allegedly partnered with her husband to open at least three fraudulent hospice agencies while out on bond awaiting trial for a separate hospice fraud case.<\/p>\n

Adolfo Catbagan<\/p>\n

Nita Palma’s 68-year-old husband, who was arrested for allegedly partnering with Palma to open fraudulent hospice agencies.<\/p>\n

Dr. Fariba Javaherian<\/p>\n

A dermatologist associated with 63 hospice facilities across California who billed Medicare more than $35 million in 2025 alone, with her billing privileges revoked the day before the raids.<\/p>\n

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\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re operating this fraudulent hospice under their daughter’s name and the nurse would fabricate and add things to the medical file to make it look like the beneficiaries were terminally ill when they weren’t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bill Essayli, First Assistant United States Attorney<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some reason, although everyone knew there was a problem there, her 113 agencies she worked with, one doctor was working with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dr. Mehmet Oz, CMS Administrator<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the state says that they are taking fraud seriously, it’s a bold faced lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bill Essayli, First Assistant United States Attorney<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

CMS has already suspended 221 hospice licenses and will be reviewing every single hospice in California to ensure they are operating legitimately, with a goal of completing the review by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

This case highlights the need for stronger oversight and accountability in the health care system, particularly in the hospice industry, where lax regulations and lack of vetting have allowed widespread fraud to thrive at the expense of taxpayers and vulnerable patients. The federal government’s aggressive response signals a commitment to rooting out systemic issues, but also underscores the failure of California’s own regulatory system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a Federal raids expose a sprawling California hospice fraud scheme that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-251538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}