The Nigerian chief who made millions from Medi-Cal

Last December, Chief Nathan Ogbatue arrived in a motorcade outside the grand entrance of a newly built palace in Abatete, Nigeria.A videographer shouted praises in Igbo, calling him “half man, half god” and commending him for building the palace “free of charge” for the Abatete community.Ogbatue is hailed on social media as a philanthropist who has built roads and housing, sponsors annual medical clinics, and provides food for the needy in Abatete.

He is also, it turns out, CEO of California Home Health Agency (CHHA), a lucrative taxpayer-funded company that provides in-home medical care and a range of specialty treatments.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story How did Ogbatue make his money? Between 2018 and 2021, CHHA made less than $2 million from Medicaid.Then, over the next three years, the company raked in more than $34 million — a massive increase, which coincided with a series of high-dollar real estate transactions.

Experts we spoke with said that CHHA’s billing numbers raised major red flags.CHHA’s website makes no mention of Nathan or Agnes Ogbatue.When we called the number on the site, a woman picked up, but declined to answer our questions, saying it was a customer service line only.We drove to California Home Health Agency’s location in a strip mall in Riverside.

The blinds were shut tight as we knocked on the door.After a while, a woman answered, and directed us to call Nathan.We showed her a photo of Chief Nathan Ogbatue in Abatete standing in front of golden statues of himself and Agnes.

She confirmed that Nathan Ogbatue was the man in the photo.Next, we drove to the Ogbatues’ six-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion, but the gates were closed.We called and asked to talk, but Nathan himself brushed us off, saying he did...