In a recent development, a former Delano doctor implicated in a health care fraud scheme amounting to millions of dollars has voluntarily surrendered her medical license due to assessed “mental impairments,” as revealed in state medical board documents.
The surrender of Estrella Pineda Asejo’s license became effective last month, according to the disclosed documents. Asejo, aged 79, faced charges alongside more than a dozen individuals last year in connection with an insurance fraud scheme. The scheme involved the owners of two Inland Empire hospice companies who allegedly paid illegal kickbacks for patient referrals and admitted individuals who did not meet the criteria for hospice care, according to federal prosecutors.
As part of her legal proceedings, Asejo opted for a plea deal and is slated to receive a probationary sentence in the upcoming year, according to her attorney, Jared M. Thompson.
Charging documents allege that the proprietors of Sterling Hospice Care, Inc. and New Hope Hospice, Inc. remunerated Asejo for patient referrals, regardless of the patients’ terminal illness status. The fraudulent scheme is reported to have defrauded Medicare and Medi-Cal of over $4,290,000, as outlined in the legal documents.
Prosecutors assert that some patients referred to Sterling and New Hope were unaware of their hospice placement, with their Medicare and Medi-Cal information used without consent to bill for unnecessary hospice services. The charges underscore the gravity of the alleged fraudulent activities that exploited unwitting patients and contributed to substantial financial losses for government healthcare programs.
