Nita Almuete Paddit Palma (age 75) sentenced to 9 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $8,270,032 in restitution for participating in a $10.6 million Medicare hospice fraud scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks paid for patient referrals.

Nita Almuete Paddit Palma (Glendale, CA) — $10.6M Hospice Fraud / Patient Referral Kickbacks

Outcome: Sentenced to 108 months (9 years) in federal prison and ordered to pay $8,270,032 in restitution for a $10.6 million Medicare hospice fraud scheme in which hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickbacks were paid for patient referrals.

Nita Almuete Paddit Palma (age 75) of Glendale, California, participated in a scheme in which hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickbacks were paid and received in exchange for patient referrals to hospice providers. The referrals resulted in approximately $10.6 million in fraudulent claims being submitted to Medicare for purported hospice care.

The scheme involved paying cash inducements to individuals who referred patients — including potentially patients who were not terminally ill — to hospice programs where fraudulent claims could then be submitted to Medicare for the hospice benefit. This patient-referral kickback model is one of the most prevalent patterns in California hospice fraud.

Co-defendant Percy Dean Abrams (age 75, Lakewood) received a separate, more lenient sentence of three years probation with two years of home confinement. Palma was sentenced on August 5, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee in Los Angeles.

Primary Source: Glendale Woman Sentenced to 9 Years in Federal Prison for $10.6 Million Hospice Fraud Scheme Involving Kickbacks for Patients