Rudra Sabaratnam
August 6, 2008: Rudra Sabaratnam, CEO of City of Angels Medical Center in Los Angeles, was arrested with Estill Mitts, who operates a health center on downtown L.A.'s Skid Row. The pair are accused of using homeless people to falsely bill Medicare for millions of dollars.1
Fast Facts
- Charges include conspiracy and health care fraud
- May face 50-year prison sentence 2
- Alleged co-conspirator Estill Mitts could face 140 years2
- L.A. city attorney Rocky Delgadillo: homeless were used as "human pawns"2
Fast Facts
Sabaratnam's arrest is part of an investigation that has been ongoing since 2006. Sabaratnam, Mitts and others are alleged to have been involved in a complex scheme to "recruit" homeless people from one of the direst pockets of poverty in Los Angeles, keep them in hospitals for unnecessarily long stays, treating them for minor, often nonexistence ailments.2 The government was billed for the expense of these stays.2
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