FBI agents arrested the CEO of City of Angels hospital, Rudra Sabaratnam, and the operator of a Skid Row health assessment center, Estill Mitts. Both men are accused of recruiting homeless people as patients and then illegally charging Medicare and Medi-Cal for services.
FBI investigations allegedly found that hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties submitted phony Medicare and Medi-Cal bills for thousands of homeless patients including drug addicts and the mentally ill recruited from downtown's Skid Row.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told various news agencies that warrants were served at City of Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center and Tustin Hospital and Medical Center as a result of their investigation.
The investigation started in 2006 by a Los Angeles police investigation of reports that hospitals were dumping homeless patients on the streets. The L.A. city attorney's office plans to announce a lawsuit against several hospitals participating in the scheme.
