A Contra Costa health care CEO who is being charged with alleged fraud was arrested in San Francisco this week while trying to board a flight to Africa, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Antioch resident Cashmir Chinedu Luke, who is in his 60s, tried to board a flight at San Francisco International Airport but was foiled by federal agents before he could fly to Nigeria, the DOJ said.
Luke is accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $7 million in payments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for services that were never actually rendered, prosecutors said. In some cases, the “care” purportedly rendered to veterans happened weeks after they were already dead.
Luke is CEO of Four Corners Health, which provided unskilled in-home nursing and day-to-day care for elderly vets. Four Corners operated in seven counties, including San Francisco and Contra Costa.
Prosecutors allege Luke carried out a five-year scheme to bill the Veterans Administration for care that was never actually given. Four Corners allegedly submitted 10,000 false claims that were reimbursed for $7 million, including claims for days no caretakers actually worked, hours beyond what was actually worked, and claims of care for vets that were no longer living.
The DOJ further alleges that Luke, as billing representative for his company, actively deceived the VA’s third-party benefits administrator as it tried to get back some of the fraudulently paid reimbursements.
“This allowed the Four Corners billing scheme to continue,” said prosecutors.
The reimbursements went directly into Luke’s account and he spent them immediately, prosecutors allege, paying for a lavish lifestyle or transferring the funds into international accounts.
If convicted, Luke faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Obviously not enough cross checks.
Obviously too… “third party billing administrator” shouldn’t be let off the hook so easily. Incompetence should not be rewarded.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a massive employer, with around 480,000 to 486,000 direct employees as of late 2024/early 2025 …
and they still need “third party” to do their billing? WTH?
So this dude was denying veterans’ care so he could line his own pockets? THROW HIM UNDER THE JAIL!!!
Don’t worry Trump will pardon him.
That’s just unintelligent jimmy
So much fraud in government programs, terrible.
He must be one of those Nigerian princes we’ve been hearing about. But my question is,
why would anyone pay for unskilled in home nursing?
The main lesson here is, don’t mess with Trump’s DOJ, they will come after you.
String him up.
A more fitting punishment would be to take all the money back and let him continue on and remain in Nigeria
Don’t steal! The government hates competition.
Now that’s just too true to even be funny.
12 out of the last 17 years they most definitely have
Taxpayers discovering our dollars are being misused from the top down, left and right. Where are the auditors? The fiduciaries? Outrageous.
He’s a con artist and probably a sociopath. They fly under the radar, until they’re finally caught.
Aw, so close. He could have gone home and lived like a “prince.” Due to his being a flight risk he may not get bail. Hello Bubba.
I have a relative who used to label everything as ‘conspiracy theory’…………….until she took a position in Medical Billing!!!
Somalians, now Nigerians, what other foreigners are ripping-off the U.S. taxpayer !!?
Exactly what Trump has been saying, and Biden ignored!