Thread: CA-FBI sweep targets Medi-Cal fraud involving handicapped ki

FBI sweep targets Medi-Cal fraud involving handicapped kids

Thursday, July 9, 2009
By RACHANEE SRISAVASDI
The Orange County Register

42 people indicted in multimillion-dollar case, FBI says.

More than a dozen arrest warrants were served this morning in Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties in connection with a multimillion-dollar fraud case against the Medi-Cal system, authorities said.

The arrests were of some of the 42 people – from Orange and Los Angeles counties – who have been indicted on charges of defrauding Medi-Cal regarding care provided to handicapped children, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Prosecutors believe the scheme will be the largest Medi-Cal fraud case ever filed, in the number of defendants. Details in the case will be released at a news conference at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles later today.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/case ... ngeles-cal

I wanna see the names....

UPDATE; Hey these are all goo old American names, aren't they? I think I'll check out the huffington Post for coverage. And Sen. Schumer says we are now secure.

A registered nurse, Priscilla Villabrosa, is accused of being the scheme’s mastermind. Villabrosa, who ran a Santa Fe Springs-based company called Medicare Plus Home Health Providers, had pleaded guilty last year to five counts of health care fraud, prosecutors said.

She hired people from 2004 to 2007 to provide care to disabled patients, and then billed Medi-Cal as if they were licensed vocational nurses, prosecutors said. Some of those hired had no medical training, and were told to lie about their qualifications to patients, prosecutors add.

Authorities say some of the patients complained that the “nursesâ€