Van Nuys Hospices: Massive Fraud Red Flag

Van Nuys Office Building: A Hotspot for Suspicious Hospice Scams

A Van Nuys office building became a hub for questionable hospice setups when a group established fifteen hospices and home care agencies in just one day in June 2020. These entities, each with only one full-time employee, raked in $12.3 million from Medicare and Medi-Cal billings in 2023 and 2024.

The group circumvented rules against shared office space by adding letters A through P to the suite number, despite the buildings small suites being unable to be subdivided and the owner offering virtual offices for $99 a month. Experts deem this practice as strictly prohibited under state guidelines.

Industry leaders label this a massive red flag for fraud, with overlaps in owners, phone numbers, and patient transfers among the agencies. Three of the fifteen hospices were expelled from Medicare for issues like enrolling non-terminal patients and lacking qualified staff, posing immediate risks to patients.

A business broker linked to several admitted they were quickly flipped and sold, with his name still appearing in records. Federal officials have frozen payments to ten tenants in the building and are conducting further investigations, while the state has revoked 280 hospice licenses in the last two years amid a moratorium on new ones.

This clustering in Los Angeles highlights broader issues, with the area now hosting nearly a quarter of the nations hospices. Legitimate providers are advocating for stricter enrollment regulations to safeguard patients from scams.

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