THREE PEOPLE INDICTED FOR DEFRAUDING MEDICARE THROUGH BILLING SCHEME; ONE ARRESTED AND TWO WANTED BY FBI Two of three people indicted earlier this month for their roles in the operation of a fraudulent Medicare billing scheme at a Rancho Palos Verdes agency are currently being sought by the FBI, announced J. Stephen Tidwell, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. On May 9, 2007, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles returned an indictment charging Lualhati Colgrove, 58, of Rancho Palos Verdes; Albert Ulit, 47, of Lomita; and Merlinda Soreno, 58, (address unknown), with multiple counts of health care fraud. According to the indictment, the scheme to defraud Medicare involved the illegal recruitment of Medicare beneficiaries and the fraudulent billing of services which were not necessary or were never provided by United Life Home Health, a home health care agency operated by defendant Colgrove. The indictment also charges Colgrove with multiple counts of illegal remuneration and the unlawful employment of illegal aliens. Between January 2002 and December 2004, United Life Home Health, Inc. was paid in excess of $9 million by Medicare, the federally funded national health care benefit program, which reimburses providers for certain types of medically necessary treatment. Among treatments which qualify for Medicare reimbursement are home health services provided by qualified home health agencies. During the conspiracy, United Life allegedly billed Medicare for home health services to Medicare beneficiaries who were visited by unlicensed nurses, as well as those who did not receive all of the reported home health services. United Life nurses and employees would falsify required forms to make it appear as though the beneficiaries were confined to the home or otherwise needed skilled nursing and therapy services. In some cases, patients were reported to be suffering from conditions that did not exist, according to the indictment. In order to find patients, defendant Colgrove and others working for her at United Life would pay marketers, including nursing registries that act as marketers, to recruit Medicare beneficiaries who were willing to sign up for home health services at United Life. The marketers allegedly induced Medicare beneficiaries to accept home health services and to sign paperwork by offering cash and free dietary supplements or other goods and services. The indictment also alleges that defendant Colgrove knowingly employed illegal aliens, such as defendant Soreno, who did not have authorization to work in the United States, nor the required nursing licenses to make patient visits. Defendant Soreno and other unlicensed nurses would make visits to United Life patients but would not sign the nursing notes reflecting their visits. Instead, defendants Colgrove, Ulit, and other properly licensed nurses at United Life would falsify nursing notes to indicate that they made the patient visits themselves, when they had not in fact done so. Colgrove was arrested on May 14th at her residence in Rancho Palos Verdes and has since posted bail and is awaiting trial. Soreno and Ulit have not been located and are currently being sought by the FBI. Photographs of Soreno and Ulit are being released to the media. Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Ulit or Soreno is urged to contact their local FBI office. In Los Angeles, the FBI can be reached 24 hours a day at 310 477-6565. This matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. The charges against Colgrove, Soreno and Ulit are being prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.