A Nigerian-born chief executive of a California-based home healthcare firm, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, has been taken into custody in the United States over allegations that he masterminded a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud military veterans.
Luke, said to be 66, was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Nigeria, according to a statement released by the US attorney’s office.
Prosecutors said the arrest followed a criminal complaint accusing him of fraudulently obtaining more than $7 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for care services that were never delivered, including claims filed for veterans who had already died.
“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.”
Investigators alleged that Luke ran a five-year operation in which his company billed the VA for thousands of hours of care that were never provided. Officials say the fraudulent claims amounted to about 10,000 submissions.
“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.
Authorities also alleged that Luke, the sole owner of Four Corners, actively misled the VA’s benefits administrator during efforts to claw back some of the money, allowing the scheme to continue unhindered.
“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.
“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.”
Diaspora NG reports if found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing, the authorities said, would depend on judicial discretion and federal guidelines that factor in several considerations.
