US authorities have arrested the CEO of a California home health care company accused of trying to flee to Nigeria while facing allegations of a $7 million fraud targeting the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This is according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The office disclosed this in a statement announcing that the suspect was taken into custody at San Francisco International Airport while preparing to board a flight to Nigeria.
This follows a five-year investigation into fraudulent claims submitted for care that was never rendered, including services billed for veterans who had already died.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the suspect, identified as Cashmir Chinedu Luke, believed to be 66, operated Four Corners Health LLC, a company that provided unskilled in-home nursing services to elderly VA beneficiaries across Fresno, Tulare, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, San Francisco, and Contra Costa Counties.
Court filings allege that Luke submitted about 10,000 false claims between December 2019 and July 2024, leading to reimbursements exceeding $7 million.
“According to court documents, between December 2019 and July 2024, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, believed to be 66, of Antioch, operated Four Corners Health LLC. That entity provided unskilled in-home nursing and day-to-day care for elderly VA beneficiaries under the Veterans Community Care Program. Luke engaged in a five-year scheme to bill the VA for hours of care that were not actually rendered to veterans,” they stated.
“Luke caused Four Corners to submit approximately 10,000 individual false claims of care provided that caused the VA, through its third-party benefits administrator, to reimburse Four Corners $7 million for duplicate claims for care actually provided, claims for days caretakers were not present with veterans, claims for hours of care beyond those actually worked by caretakers, and claims of care for veterans who were actually dead,” they added
The statement explained that the claims included duplicate submissions, hours of care that were never worked, days caretakers were not present, and billings for veterans who were already deceased.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Luke spent reimbursement payments immediately after being paid by the VA, either by spending lavishly on personal expenses or by promptly transferring the funds across a network of bank accounts throughout Asia and Africa.
If convicted, Luke faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that sentencing will depend on statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines.
“If convicted, Luke faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” they said
The case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin Lee is prosecuting the matter.