Cashmir Chinedu Luke, a Nigerian enterprise government of a U.S. house well being care firm, has been arrested by federal authorities for allegedly defrauding the U.S. Division of Veterans Affairs (VA) of greater than $7 million.
In response to a press release launched by the U.S. Division of Justice, Luke was taken into custody on Wednesday at San Francisco Worldwide Airport whereas trying to board a flight to Nigeria.
Federal prosecutors allege that between December 2019 and July 2024, Luke, believed to be 66, operated 4 Corners Well being LLC, a Fresno-based firm that offered non-skilled in-home care companies to aged veterans beneath the Veterans Group Care Program.
Investigators say Luke orchestrated a “five-year billing scheme,” submitting greater than 10,000 fraudulent claims for care that was by no means offered.
The false claims allegedly included:
Costs for hours that caretakers didn’t work
Claims for days when caretakers weren’t current
Duplicate billing for companies
Claims submitted weeks after some veterans had died
4 Corners operated in a number of counties, together with Fresno, Tulare, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, San Francisco, and Contra Costa.
The DOJ additional alleges that Luke—who served as the only proprietor and billing consultant of the corporate—actively deceived the VA’s third-party administrator because it tried to recuperate among the fraudulent funds. He’s accused of instantly spending or transferring the proceeds throughout a community of {bank} accounts in Asia and Africa.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Veterans Affairs Workplace of Inspector Basic, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Lawyer Calvin Lee.
If convicted, Luke faces as much as 10 years in federal jail and a $250,000 positive. Prosecutors famous that the costs stay allegations, and he’s presumed harmless till confirmed responsible in court docket.