A Nigerian-born CEO of a home healthcare business in California, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, has been detained in the United States on suspicion of masterminding a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that targeted veterans of the armed forces.
The CEO was detained at San Francisco International Airport while trying to board a trip to Nigeria, according to a statement from the US attorney’s office.
According to sources, he is being charged in response to a criminal complaint that claims he deceitfully obtained over $7 million in payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for services that were never provided, including care that was allegedly given to veterans weeks after they passed away.
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“According to court documents, between December 2019 and July 2024, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, believed to be 66, of Antioch, operated Four Corners Health LLC,” the statement reads.
“That entity provided unskilled in-home nursing and day-to-day care for elderly VA beneficiaries under the Veterans Community Care Program. Four Corners provided services in Fresno, Tulare, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, San Francisco, and Contra Costa Counties.”
The attorney’s office stated Luke engaged in a five-year scheme to bill the VA for hours of care that were not actually rendered to veterans.
“Luke caused Four Corners to submit approximately 10,000 individual false claims of care provided that caused the VA, through its third-party benefits administrator, to reimburse Four Corners $7 million for duplicate claims for care actually provided, claims for days caretakers were not present with veterans, claims for hours of care beyond those actually worked by caretakers, and claims of care for veterans who were actually dead,” the statement added.
“Luke served as the sole owner and billing representative for Four Corners and actively deceived the VA’s third-party benefits administrator as it attempted to recover some of the fraudulently paid reimbursements.
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“This allowed the Four Corners billing scheme to continue. Luke personally profited from the scheme as the sole owner of the bank account that received the reimbursement payments.
“Luke spent reimbursement payments immediately after being paid by the VA, either by spending lavishly on personal expenses or by promptly transferring the funds across a network of bank accounts throughout Asia and Africa.”
Cashmir Chinedu Luke may receive a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if found guilty.
However, the court would decide on any sentence after taking into account the federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a variety of circumstances, as well as any applicable statutory factors.
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