Charges allege Southern California hospice care fraud

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) — Sixteen people have been charged with defrauding the California Medi-Cal and federal Medicare systems of more than $4.2 million by enrolling people who were not terminally ill into hospice care. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday that 14 of those charged in San Bernardino County Superior Court have been arrested and two remain at large. The allegations involve two locally based companies and span the period from 2015 to 2021. Prosecutors say that many of the patients told investigators that they were enrolled in hospice care without their knowledge or understanding of what hospice is. The defendants face an array of charges. Calls to the companies for comment did not go through.