On Thursday, the FBI announced the arrests of eight of 15 defendants accused of participating in a major multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme.
The arrests were made in and around Los Angeles County and the Darren, Idaho, courthouse. Officials said some of the defendants are health care professionals, including nurses, psychologists and chiropractors.
Taxpayer losses were reported to be more than $50 million, according to the Justice Department.
The six defendants arrested Thursday are expected to make their first court appearances Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
Pictured here are the 15 defendants in the recent “Never Say Die” investigation. (FBI)
Details of the operation, which was linked to the Vice President’s Fraud Elimination Task Force, were released Thursday. FBI officials say they have a zero-tolerance policy for anyone accused of defrauding American taxpayers.
“This morning we executed Operation Never Say Die,” announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essaly. “Federal agents from multiple agencies swooped down on fraudsters throughout Southern California, executing multiple arrests and search warrants.”
Essally announced the arrests of eight people, including doctors and nurses, and the charges against 15 individuals involved in nine separate health care fraud investigations.
Those arrested include hospice owners, who Essally said charged taxpayers millions of dollars to provide services to terminally ill patients who reportedly weren’t sick at all.
The defendants include three nurses, a chiropractor and a psychologist. Officials claim they ran fraudulent hospice facilities that drained Medicare by using people who were not terminally ill as beneficiaries.
All face years in federal prison.
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According to the Department of Justice, the United States loses billions of dollars each year to health care fraud, with U.S. taxpayers bearing the costs — skyrocketing premiums, copays and taxes.
Operation Never Say Die was organized to hunt down those who abused the system, in this case alleging the defendants turned hospice into a money-making operation.
For example, two of the suspects, 66-year-old psychologist Gladwin Gill and his wife, Covena nurse Amelou Gill, allegedly ran a Glendale-based hospice and planned to defraud Medicare by paying “alleged kickbacks for referrals of patients who did not die.”
The couple allegedly laundered the money and then used the funds for mortgage payments, car payments, personal bills, travel and dining out, among other things.
The 15 defendants named by the Justice Department in nine investigations are:
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Lolita Bellonilla Minard65 years old, licensed vocational nurse, Anaheim
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Gladwin GillA 66-year-old psychologist and his wife, Amelu Gilla 70-year-old registered nurse, both of Covina.
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Nita Almut Padit PalmaThe 76-year-old three-time convicted health care fraudster is currently incarcerated with her husband in a federal prison in Seattle. Adolf Kattbagan68, Glendale
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Evelyn Tindymobner51 years old, certified vocational nurse, Chatsworth
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Ivan Verne Lauritsyn50, Simi Valley
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Tolu Orawa-Moala51, Carson; John Nicholas77, El Segundo, a licensed chiropractor; Krista Richter40, of Torrance, who owns a medical billing company; John Kohuroa49, Long Beach
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Gregory CartmellAge 62, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Licensed Chiropractor and Co-Conspirator Vincent SoulasAge 87, McKinney, Texas
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Sonya Griffin51, Lakewood
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Gao Yongzhu59 years old, from East Hollywood, legal permanent resident of South Korea
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