LOS ANGELES, California — A Glendale woman and a Lakewood man have been convicted of orchestrating a scheme involving illegal kickbacks and fraudulent Medicare claims totaling approximately $3.2 million, the Justice Department announced. Nita Palma, 75, of Glendale, and Percy Abrams, 74, of Lakewood, were found guilty of multiple counts related to health care fraud and kickbacks.
Palma was convicted of 12 counts of health care fraud and 16 counts of paying illegal kickbacks for health care referrals, while Abrams was found guilty of six counts of receiving illegal kickbacks, according to the Justice Department. Evidence presented during the six-day trial revealed that Palma, previously excluded from Medicare due to past convictions, purchased Magnolia Gardens Hospice through her daughter in 2015 and concealed her ownership from Medicare.
Palma paid marketers, including Abrams, substantial sums for patient referrals, which allowed her to bill Medicare for hospice care that was not needed, the Justice Department stated. Hospice care is intended for terminally ill patients with a life expectancy of six months or less, but Abrams falsely assured prospective patients that they did not need to be dying to qualify for hospice…