MISSION VIEJO, Calif.—Federal agents raided the headquarters of Ensign Group Inc. and several other locations Wednesday in what company officials suspect is a probe into alleged Medicare fraud at the national chain of nursing homes.
Agents raided several locations in Orange and Los Angeles counties, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. She said the subject of the federal search warrant remains sealed and could not provide further details.
A company executive told the Orange County Register that the Department of Justice has been investigating Ensign since 2006 and that the problem may have stemmed from acquisitions of troubled facilities.
“We take in a lot of facilities that are in trouble and turn them around,” corporate vice president and legal counsel Greg Stapley told the newspaper.
The Mission Viejo-based Ensign Group operates 63 nursing and convalescent homes in California, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Utah and Idaho.
In filings with the Security Exchange Commission, Ensign reported that the government has been investigating the billing and reimbursement practice of some of the company’s subsidiaries.
In November 2006, the company conducted an internal investigation into Medicare reimbursements and found that documentation was missing for $224,000 in Medicare claims, according to the documents.
The company said the U.S. attorney’s office is likely conducting “parallel criminal, civil and administrative investigations.”
