Federal authorities arrested eight defendants last week in a sweeping enforcement action targeting health care fraud across Southern California and beyond. The cases, coordinated with the Vice President’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, involved more than $50 million in fraudulent billing — with sham hospice companies at the center of most charges.

The Hospice Schemes

Five separate cases targeted operators of fraudulent hospice care facilities. The common playbook: enroll Medicare beneficiaries who weren’t terminally ill, bill Medicare for services that were unnecessary or never provided, and pay kickbacks to recruiters and patients to keep the pipeline flowing.

The largest hospice case involves Nita Palma, a thrice-convicted health care fraudster who allegedly opened three new hospice companies while out on bond awaiting trial for a previous hospice fraud case. She and her husband, Adolfo Catbagan, are charged with billing Medicare at least $4.8 million through those companies, with Catbagan serving as the nominal owner to evade Palma’s exclusion from Medicare.

Other hospice defendants include Lolita Minerd, a vocational nurse whose company had an 85% non-death discharge rate — nearly five times the national average — and billed Medicare over $9.1 million; psychologist Gladwin Gill and his wife Amelou, who allegedly laundered over $4 million in fraudulent proceeds through personal expenses; Evelyn Tindimobuna, charged with billing $3.8 million for sham hospice services; and Ivan Lauritzen, whose company’s live discharge rate exceeded 75% and who allegedly forged a physician’s signature on enrollment forms.

Union Health Plan Fraud

Three additional cases targeted a longshore workers’ union health plan. In the largest, four defendants are charged with submitting $19 million in false claims for chiropractic and physical therapy services through a network of wellness centers. Separately, Idaho chiropractor Gregory Cartmell allegedly billed $9.1 million under a co-conspirator’s credentials after being terminated from the plan. And Sonia Griffen is charged with submitting $4.9 million in fraudulent claims through her wellness center after it, too, was barred from the plan.

Immigration Medical Fraud

In a standalone case, Young Joo Ko was charged with running a scheme exploiting the green card medical exam process — preparing required immigration health forms without actual physician examinations.

The defendants face penalties ranging from 10 to 20 years in federal prison depending on the charges. All are presumed innocent until proven guilty.