Glendale Hospice Queen Gets 9 Years for $10.6M Fraud

LOS ANGELES – Nita Almuete Paddit Palma, 75, of Glendale, is headed to federal prison for nine years after a jury convicted her of orchestrating a brazen $10.6 million Medicare fraud scheme. Palma, already barred from the federal healthcare program due to prior offenses, illegally profited by billing Medicare for hospice care provided to patients who weren’t terminally ill, authorities say. She was sentenced to 108 months by U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who also ordered her to pay $8,270,032 in restitution.

The scheme, run through Magnolia Gardens Hospice and C@A Hospice – both secretly owned by Palma through family members to circumvent her exclusion from Medicare – relied on paying “marketers,” including 75-year-old Percy Dean Abrams of Lakewood, for patient referrals. Abrams, convicted of receiving illegal kickbacks, received three years of probation, including two years of home confinement. The operation systematically targeted vulnerable individuals, falsely claiming they qualified for end-of-life care.

Evidence presented at the six-day trial revealed Palma directed marketers like Abrams to falsely tell prospective patients they didn’t need to be dying to qualify for hospice benefits. Abrams then collected personal information from these ineligible patients and passed it along to Palma, who billed Medicare an estimated $10.6 million. Palma pocketed around $6,000 per patient, per month, while rewarding Abrams and others with kickbacks of up to $1,000 per referred patient. Many patients were unaware they were even enrolled in hospice, discovering the fraud only when denied necessary medical coverage.

The feds weren’t fooled. When Medicare requested supporting documentation for the suspicious claims, Palma and her husband allegedly fabricated patient charts, submitting falsified records in a desperate attempt to conceal the fraud. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated, uncovering a pattern of deceit and exploitation. Even while awaiting trial, court documents allege Palma expanded her fraudulent reach, taking control of three additional hospices and submitting another $4.8 million in questionable claims.

“This wasn’t about providing comfort care to the dying,” stated Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger A. Hsieh, who prosecuted the case alongside Matt Coe-Odess. “It was a calculated and callous scheme to line the defendant’s pockets at the expense of a vital healthcare program and vulnerable patients.” The conviction sends a clear message: exploiting Medicare for personal gain will be met with serious consequences.

Palma’s history of receiving illegal kickbacks clearly didn’t deter her. She clearly believed she could outsmart the system, but the jury saw through the charade. The investigation underscores the ongoing threat of healthcare fraud and the dedication of federal agencies to protect both the Medicare program and the patients it serves. The case serves as a grim reminder of the lengths to which some will go to profit from the suffering of others.