3 weeks ago
5
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A national expansive assemblage returned a six-count indictment charging a 34-year-old caregiver from Santa Clarita with a multi-million dollar hospice fraud successful Fresno and Kern Counties, acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith with the Department of Justice announced Friday.
Beckwith says Jessa Zayas' six-count indictment charges are for wellness attraction fraud and aggravated individuality theft for submitting millions of dollars successful fraudulent claims for hospice attraction to Medicare.
According to tribunal records, Zayas was the CEO and proprietor of Healing Hands Hospice and Humane Love Hospice, which are based successful Van Nuys.
According to Beckwith, portion moving different full-time job. Zayas fraudulently billed Medicare for hospice attraction supposedly provided to implicit 100 radical who were not terminally ill.
Zayas knew these individuals were not terminally sick arsenic was represented to Medicare, and that they truthful were ineligible for the Medicare hospice payments, according to Beckwith.
The full magnitude of fraudulent Medicare billings from June 2023 done May 2025 was astatine slightest $2,500,000.
The indictment alleges that Zayas and others obtained idiosyncratic Medicare accusation for the expected hospice patients by going to status homes successful Fresno and Kern Counties.
To debar detection, Beckwith says they made these visits aft hours erstwhile astir of the status residences’ managers were gone for the day. Zayas and others knocked connected the patients’ doors and asked them for their accusation truthful that they could enroll them successful hospice.
According to Beckwith, Zayas past caused the Medicare claims to beryllium submitted with mendacious representations astir terminal unwellness and submitted forged doctor’s certifications erstwhile Medicare asked for supporting documentation.
The Medicare payments were deposited into slope accounts that Zayas controlled.
The FBI and HHS OIG accidental they arrested Zayas and executed a hunt warrant astatine her location past week. Among different evidence, the FBI seized $77,000 successful currency that Zayas had hidden successful boxes underneath her bed.
If convicted, Zayas faces a maximum word of 10 years successful situation and a $250,000 good for the wellness attraction fraud charge. She besides faces an further mandatory 2 years successful situation for the aggravated individuality theft charge, consecutive to immoderate different sentence.
