FRESNO, CALIF. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Eastern), published as received.
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging Jessa Zayas, 34, of Santa Clarita, with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft for submitting millions of dollars in of fraudulent claims for hospice care to Medicare, Acting United States Attorney Michele Beckwith announced today.
Hospice is a type of care and support for terminally ill patients. Medicare is a federal health insurance program that covers certain hospice expenses. Generally, a patient must be certified as being terminally ill to qualify for hospice care payments under Medicare.
According to court records, Zayas was the CEO and owner of Healing Hands Hospice and Humane Love Hospice, which are based in Van Nuys, while also working another full-time job. Zayas caused Healing Hands and Humane Love to fraudulently bill Medicare for hospice care supposedly provided to over 100 people who were not in fact terminally ill. Zayas knew these individuals were not terminally ill as was represented to Medicare, and that they therefore were ineligible for the Medicare hospice payments. The total amount of fraudulent Medicare billings caused by Zayas from June 2023 through May 2025 was at least $2,500,000.
Zayas and others obtained personal Medicare information for the supposed hospice patients by going to retirement homes in Fresno and Kern Counties. To avoid detection, they made these visits after hours when most of the retirement residences’ managers were gone for the day. Zayas and others knocked on the patients’ doors and asked them for their information so that they could enroll them in hospice. Zayas then caused the Medicare claims to be submitted with false representations about terminal illness and submitted forged doctor’s certifications when Medicare asked for supporting documentation. The Medicare payments were deposited into banks accounts that Zayas controlled.
The FBI and HHS OIG arrested Zayas and executed a search warrant at her home last week. Among other evidence, the FBI seized $77,000 in cash that Zayas had hidden in boxes underneath her bed.
This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI and HHS OIG. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Barton and Brittany Gunter are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Zayas faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the health care fraud charge. She also faces an additional mandatory two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge, consecutive to any other sentence. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations. Zayas is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
