The charges, filed in three separate criminal complaints, were announced jointly with the California Department of Health Care Services, according to the AG's office. Investigators allege the defendants purchased stolen personal identifying information for non-California residents from the dark web, enrolled those identities in Medi-Cal through Covered California, and acquired 14 hospice companies through straw owners to submit fraudulent billing against the enrollees investigators describe as fictitious.

"Over the life of this fraud scheme, not a single legitimate hospice service was ever provided yet millions were billed in a brazen, calculated scheme that exploited the Medi-Cal system," Bonta said. "This wasn't a mistake or a loophole; it was deliberate fraud."

All 21 defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, and identity theft, along with aggravated white-collar crime and aggravated money laundering enhancements, the press release said.

The enforcement action, dubbed Operation Skip Trace, was executed on April 8 with search and arrest warrants at locations across Southern California. Five individuals were arrested, two handguns were seized, and investigators recovered more than $757,000 in cash.

DHCS Director Michelle Baass credited the agency's internal controls with detecting the activity. "Our safeguards worked as designed: we identified irregularities early, stopped further improper payments, and suspended the fraudulent providers," she said. The California Franchise Tax Board assisted in executing the warrants.

Governor Gavin Newsom, in a statement accompanying the announcement, tied the case to the state-level nature of the charges. "We hold accountable to the fullest extent of the law anyone who tries to rip off taxpayers and take advantage of public programs, particularly those as sensitive as hospice care," Newsom said. "Since these are state charges, Donald Trump cannot pardon these individuals in exchange for campaign donations."

The DOJ's Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, California's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, led the investigation. According to the AG's office, the division receives 75 percent of its funding through a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, totaling $77,652,892 for federal fiscal year 2026, with the remaining 25 percent funded by the California Attorney General's Office.

All 21 defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.