A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
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The CEO of a Fresno-based home health care company was arrested at San Francisco International Airport while trying to board a flight to Nigeria and is accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $7 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs for care that prosecutors say was never provided, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced Wednesday.
According to a criminal complaint, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, 66, of Antioch, operated Four Corners Health LLC, which provided unskilled in-home care for elderly VA beneficiaries in Fresno, Tulare, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties.
Prosecutors allege that between December 2019 and July 2024, Luke submitted roughly 10,000 false claims for hours of care that were never rendered, including claims for days when caretakers were not present, hours beyond what employees worked, duplicate claims, and even care allegedly provided to veterans weeks after they had died.
Luke, the sole owner and billing representative for the company, is accused of deceiving the VA’s third-party benefits administrator as it attempted to recover some of the improper payments. Prosecutors say he personally benefited by spending the reimbursement funds on personal expenses or quickly moving the money through bank accounts across Asia and Africa.
If convicted, Luke faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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