SAN FRANCISCO, CA—A United States-based Nigerian CEO, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on Wednesday while allegedly attempting to board a flight to Nigeria, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
Luke, who is the CEO and sole owner of a Fresno-based home health care company, is charged in a criminal complaint alleging that he fraudulently obtained more than $7 million in payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) over a five-year period.
The Charges: Billing for the Deceased
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced the charges, which allege that Mr. Luke, believed to be 66, orchestrated an extensive scheme through his company, Four Corners Health LLC. The firm provided unskilled in-home nursing and daily care for elderly VA beneficiaries under the Veterans Community Care Program across several California counties.
According to court documents, the scheme lasted from December 2019 to July 2024 and involved submitting approximately 10,000 individual false claims. The fraudulent charges included:
-
Billing for the Deceased: Claims for care purportedly rendered to veterans weeks after they had died.
-
Unrendered Services: Claims for care that was never actually provided, including hours that caretakers did not work or days when they were not present with the veterans.
-
Duplicate Claims: Submitting duplicate claims for services that had already been reimbursed.
The Arrest
Luke, an Antioch resident, was taken into custody at SFO as he prepared to leave the country. Prosecutors allege that as the sole owner and billing representative, Luke actively deceived the VA’s third-party benefits administrator and repeatedly misled them as they tried to recover improper payments, allowing the scheme to continue.
Prosecutors further allege that Luke personally profited from the scheme, spending the reimbursement payments on “lavish personal expenses” or promptly transferring the funds across a network of bank accounts located in Asia and Africa.
The case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. If convicted on the charges, Luke faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
