BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging 34-year-old Jessa Zayas of Santa Clarita with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft for submitting millions of dollars in fraudulent claims for hospice care to Medicare in Fresno and Kern counties.
Hospice is a type of care and support for terminally ill patients. Medicare is a federal health insurance program that covers certain hospice expenses. The DOJ said generally, a patient must be certified as being terminally ill to qualify for hospice care payments under Medicare.
The DOJ said, according to court records, Zayas was the CEO and owner of Healing Hands Hospice and Humane Love Hospice, which are based in Van Nuys, while also working another full-time job. Zayas caused Healing Hands and Humane Love to fraudulently bill Medicare for hospice care supposedly provided to over 100 people who were not terminally ill…