The Justice Department has charged 10 Southern California defendants in a series of healthcare fraud schemes, as part of a broader national initiative against healthcare fraud.
The charges were announced as part of the "2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown," which resulted in charges against 455 defendants nationwide in schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in alleged fraud. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the operation as "the greatest combined federal and state effort in combating healthcare fraud in history."
In the Central District of California, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against 10 defendants accused of defrauding government-funded healthcare programs or abusing their positions as medical professionals to illegally prescribe controlled substances.
Five individuals were arrested in the greater Los Angeles area for allegedly participating in a scheme that involved submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal for expensive prescription drugs. Prosecutors allege that the scheme involved expensive drugs containing low-cost generic ingredients that were either not medically necessary or were never provided to the purported recipients.
One of those charged was Christina Mareik, 61, of Whittier, who allegedly helped facilitate fraudulent prescriptions that generated nearly $270 million in claims to Medi-Cal. Authorities said Mareik sent thousands of fraudulent prescriptions to a co-conspirator and caused the submission of fraudulent prescriptions under her own name.
Another case involved a San Fernando Valley man accused of operating hospice care companies that fraudulently billed Medicare approximately $27 million. Prosecutors charged Oren David Shachar, 59, of Van Nuys, Abraham Shin, 66, of Corona, and Jeannie Choi, 57, of Torrance with conspiracy to defraud Medicare out of approximately $27 million.
The Justice Department has vowed to crack down on healthcare fraud, with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stating that "fraudsters can no longer rip off American taxpayers." The operation marks the largest combined federal and state effort in combating healthcare fraud in history.
The charges include conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, monetary transactions involving criminally derived property exceeding $10,000, and violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The defendants face significant penalties for their alleged crimes.
