‘How Do You Put A Hospice In A Burrito Stand?’ Stunning New Revelations About Astronomical California Fraud

The U.S. Congress is being stunned by unnerving revelations about the extent of hospice fraud in California, with alarming testimony indicating phony hospice centers purportedly located in a burrito stand as well as a tire shop.

Sheila Clark, president and CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, told lawmakers Tuesday: “How do you put a hospice in a burrito stand in California? How do you put a hospice in a tire store in California? That all had to be vetted through licensure and certification and accreditation.”

“You’d be amazed at how many hospices – the door you can walk up to in California and there is nobody there. There is five months worth of mail that you can see stacked up from CMS and nobody’s there. And that passed a survey. How did that happen?”

The House Ways and Means Committee was so struck by Clark’s disclosure, it shared her testimony on social media, noting: “You heard that right. In Gavin Newsom’s California, a burrito stand masquerading as a hospice care facility was getting accredited and receiving taxpayer dollars.”

Politics on X explained: “This example illustrates broader federal and state probes into California hospice fraud involving overbilling Medicare, shell companies, identity theft, and improper enrollments, with one recent scheme alone allegedly defrauding Medi-Cal of $267 million.”

Eric Schwalm, a retired Green Beret, reacted facetiously to Clark’s testimony, clowning: “Why would you cheat somebody out of this absolutely amazing combination!!!! I want a burrito stand in my hospice care! YOU SHATTERED PEOPLE’S DREAMS!!!!!”

Clark recommended Congress develop a mechanism for individuals to escape fraudulent hospice enrollment.

“We need better enforcement on entry. We need better enforcement at licensure, at the state level. We need it at the certification, the accreditation agencies,” Clark said. “We’re not going to convict our way out of this. We have to stop them from entering the system.”

When lawmakers asked about legitimate providers attempting to give desperately needed services to folks at the end of their lives, Clark said: “We are rebuilding California home health and hospice; if we don’t do that, it will collapse.”

Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., indicated: “The American people are demanding answers about the theft of their tax dollars and their Medicare benefits. To the fraudsters: your time operating in the dark is way over.”

In March, as WorldNetDaily reported, investigative journalist Nick Shirley released a video exposing astronomical fraud in the Golden State, focusing on alleged fake hospices in Los Angeles and fraudulent daycare centers in San Diego.

“Minnesota was big but California is even bigger,” said Shirley. “We uncovered over $170,000,000 in fraud as these fraudsters live in luxury with no consequences. Like it and share it, the fraud must STOP.”