The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a new initiative designed to help curb fraudulent billing and tax evasion tactics commonly used by unscrupulous hospice operators. The agency announced its new Fraud Tax Project, an effort to improve program integrity, in a recent letter to the U.S. Department of Health & […]
Two California-based individuals were recently sentenced to prison for their alleged involvement in a nearly $16 million hospice fraud and money laundering case. Juan Carlos Esparza, 33, and Susanna Harutyunyan, 39, were two of the five “foreign nationals” who allegedly operated four sham hospice companies in California, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should investigate home health and hospice fraud and reconsider the data behind the agency’s determination of home health payment rates. On Thursday, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) submitted a letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz calling for CMS to thoroughly investigate fraudulent billing practices in Los […]
Two groups of perpetrators are facing justice after allegedly committing hospice fraud. The California Attorney General’s office has secured the sentencing of two alleged conspirators, Ralph and Rochell Canales, a married couple. Ralph Caneles received a sentence of seven years and four months in prison and payment of nearly $1.5 million in restitution. Rochell Canales […]
A hospice marketer was recently ordered to serve 12 months of home detention and pay $100,000 in fines for their alleged role in a kickback fraud scheme in California. Callie Jean Black, 66, recently faced sentencing in the U.S. District Court of Central California for allegedly recruiting patients for hospice companies in exchange for illegal […]
A hospice operator in California has recently been sentenced to serve four years and nine months in prison for their involvement in a nearly $16 million fraud and money laundering scheme. Karpis Srapyan, 35, along with Petros Fichidzhyan and Juan Carlos Esparza, allegedly operated four sham hospice companies, which were allegedly owned by “foreign nationals,” […]
A federal grand jury in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, has indicted a certified nurse assistant for their alleged involvement in a hospice fraud scheme. Potential sentencing includes more than two decades of imprisonment. April Guadalupe Hernandez, 27, was an employee of Luna Del Valle Hospice, LilyCare of New Mexico and Hospice De La Luz. She […]
Two women in West Covina, California, have been arrested on Medicare fraud charges for hospice services delivered to patients who were not terminally ill. A federal grand jury indicted Normita “Normie” Sierra, 71, owner of Golden Meadows Hospice Inc. and D’Alexandria Hospice Inc., and Rowena “Weng” Elegado, 55, on conspiracy and health care fraud charges. […]
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has unveiled a statewide awareness campaign to warn consumers about hospice fraud. California in recent years has emerged as a hotbed state for hospice fraud, along with Arizona, Nevada and Texas. Swarms of new providers have entered those states with the intention of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid and providing substandard […]
Two individuals involved in a $10.6 million fraudulent Medicare hospice billing scheme have received sentences, with one facing imprisonment. Nita Almuete Paddit Palma, owner of the California-based companies Magnolia Gardens Hospice and C@A Hospice, was sentenced on Wednesday to 108 months in federal prison. Palma in 2024 was convicted and found guilty of 12 counts […]
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