Colossal hospice scheme cost California millions, officials say amid intensifying Trump feud

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Twenty-one people are facing charges as part of a massive hospice fraud scheme that prosecutors say bilked California’s medical system out of $267 million.Atty.

Gen.Rob Bonta on Thursday announced the results of an investigation called Operation Skip Trace.

Five principal conspirators were arrested on suspicion of a host of felonies, including insurance fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and identity theft for their alleged role in a sophisticated hospice scam operating across Southern California.If convicted, each could face at least a decade behind bars.

State prosecutors allege the defendants purchased on the dark web the personal identifying information of non-California residents and, without their knowledge, enrolled them in Medi-Cal through Covered California.The defendants then bought hospice companies and began billing the state for services they never rendered, according to the criminal complaint.“Over the life of this fraud scheme, not a single legitimate hospice service was ever provided, yet millions were billed in a brazen, calculated scheme that exploited the Medi-Cal system,” Bonta said.

“This wasn’t a mistake or a loophole; it was deliberate fraud.This kind of abuse undermines trust, drains critical resources, and threatens care for those who truly depend on it.” Prosecutors say Robert Sabiron Rubillar and Liezyl Rubillar, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of Legal Systems Billing Solutions, masterminded the scheme.

The pair, along with the three others, were arrested Wednesday as state investigators served search warrants at 10 locations across Southern California.They are charged with conspiracy and insurance fraud for allegedly submitting bogus claims to Medi-Cal for Cherish Hospice Inc., Emanuel Hospice and Azure Hospice Care Inc., according to a criminal complaint.California Federal authorities announced arrests in a ...