A Monterey doctor and six others are arrested on felony charges of hospice fraud.

A Monterey doctor and six others have been arrested on multiple felony charges for hospice fraud, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Feb. 5. The seven are accused of stealing more than $3.2 million from Medi-Cal and Medicare over a period of eight years by enrolling people in hospice, some of whom were not ill and in some cases weren’t aware they had been enrolled.

Dr. Shomir Banerjee of Monterey Concierge Medicine was listed in a felony complaint filed in Monterey County Superior Court on Jan. 16, along with two other doctors based in Southern California, a nurse and three others listed as owners of hospice companies allegedly used to commit fraud. Banerjee and the other doctors were all identified as “medical directors” of the hospices.

One of the listed hospice owners, Flor Zulema Mora, also known as Flor Zulema Mora Saldana, appears to have purchased a Carmel Highlands home in November for $4 million. The 1925 Storybook home was featured in the Wall Street Journal as a “Home of the Week” in September. After Mora purchased the home it was voted as “Home of the Year,” by readers. Mora was interviewed for a story that ran Jan. 28, describing herself as working in healthcare.

Banerjee and Mora could not be reached for comment. 

The defendants were each charged with two counts of making false or fraudulent claims and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime. The charges came with a special allegation of aggravated white collar crime enhancement, related to fraud and embezzlement. Three additional special allegations include theft over $100,000 and “continuous course of conduct.”

Finally, an “allegation of circumstances in aggravation” alleges that the defendants included others to participate in the commission of crimes and took advantage of a position of trust or confidence to commit the offenses.

The investigation into the alleged conspiracy began after the California Department of Justice received a referral from the state Board of Registered Nursing after fraudulent activity was discovered in activities of Spiritual Touch Hospice and Compassionate Touch Hospice. Both are listed at the same address in Monterey Park, in Los Angeles County.

A multi-year investigation by the the state’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse uncovered a conspiracy to defraud Medi-Cal and Medicare, allegedly involving the owners, doctors and nurses of the two for-profit hospice companies, along with a third company called Fountain Hospice, also listed at the same Monterey Park address.

“The defendants owned, operated or worked for the three hospice companies simultaneously. They recruited, enrolled and certified patients for hospice services who did not suffer from a terminal diagnosis,” according to a press release from Bonta’s office. “Some of these patients did not know hospice was intended for patients who were terminally ill, or that they were even enrolled in hospice.”

At times people would go to the doctor for care, only to be told their charges could not be run through Medi-Cal or Medicare due to the fact they were enrolled in hospice.

Hospice care is specifically for care in a person’s last weeks or months of life, sometimes six months or less. A tip off to investigators was finding patients who were enrolled in hospice care for multiple years, according to a DOJ spokesperson. The defendants allegedly transferred several patients between the three companies after six months to continually bill for services.

It’s unclear if any Monterey County residents were fraudulently enrolled in hospice care. Although most of the defendants appear to be located in Los Angeles County, the case was filed in Monterey County, possibly as part of a legal strategy. The spokesperson says the investigation is ongoing which limits what information can be released to the public.