A Chula Vista mother and daughter are facing federal charges for allegedly pretending to provide medical services while the mother was serving a federal prison sentence and then filing $9.5 million in fake Medicare claims.
Blanca Estela Cardenas, 55, and Raquel Pasillas, 33, allegedly got over $5.5 million in reimbursements and subsequently utilized the alleged fraud proceeds for personal purposes, including more than $4.7 million in cash withdrawals and rent payments for Cardenas’ residence while she was in prison.
Cardenas worked as a nurse practitioner and owned Mobile Care Medical Providers, LLC, and B&R Wound Care, Inc., according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say the companies submitted claims to Medicare claiming Cardenas was providing services when she was actually detained for an unrelated bulk cash smuggling charge.
Pasillas provided medical services to patients such as wound treatment and “costly skin substitute allografts” despite not having a medical license or certification, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The accusations against Cardenas and Pasillas were released as part of a larger Department of Justice investigation into health care fraud and opioid-related allegations against 455 individuals around the country, including 90 doctors and other medical professionals.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that the collective charges involved over $6.5 billion in false claims and “significant patient harm, including death.”
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