BREAKING: 5 arrested for $267 million California hospice fraud scheme

California authorities have taken five people into custody as the state has been exposing an alleged hospice fraud ring taking place in southern California. The arrests were announced by State Attorney General Rob Bonta. 

Bonta said that the scheme the five suspects were involved in defrauded the state of $267 million. Bonta added in his comments that the defendants in the case did not provide a single authentic hospice service and just collected the millions from the government. Officials said that more arrests will come, and that the state has filed charges against 21 suspects.  

"Yesterday, we successfully executed search and arrest warrants at 10 separate locations and arrested five suspects so far throughout Southern California," Bonta said. He then claimed that the sting was just the "latest example of the California DOJ is long standing ongoing and successful efforts to combat hospice and medical fraud."

The issue of hospice fraud has been highlighted in recent weeks after media as well a federal investigations have shown so-called "hospice" locations not providing services. 

"What will address fraud is us doing the hard work — heads down, sleeves rolled up, doing the investigation, doing the arrests, doing the prosecutions, holding folks accountable," Bonta told CBS News in a statement. The law enforcement effort to take down the hospice fraud was a part of Operation Skip Trace, which targeted the ten locations.  

"There were no actual services, no hospice centers or any real paperwork, it was all made up as part of this fraudulent criminal activity," Bonta added. The charges against the suspects include conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, money laundering and identity theft.