Seven individuals including United Palliative & Hospice Company operators charged in 43-count superseding indictment for allegedly billing Medicare and Medicaid over $110 million for hospice services provided to patients who were not terminally ill.

United Palliative & Hospice Company (Houston, TX) — $110M Medicare/Medicaid Hospice Fraud

Outcome: Seven individuals charged in 43-count superseding indictment for allegedly defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of over $110 million by billing for hospice services provided to patients who were not terminally ill; operators also deceived patients and families about billed services.

United Palliative & Hospice Company, operated by defendants Dera Ogudo and Victoria Martinez out of the Houston area, was at the center of a massive hospice fraud scheme. The scheme involved enrolling patients who were not terminally ill — the core eligibility requirement for Medicare's hospice benefit — and billing Medicare and Medicaid for hospice services provided to ineligible patients. The total fraud amount alleged exceeds $110 million.

The deception extended beyond the government programs: Ogudo, Martinez, and their co-conspirators also "misled elderly patients and their families about services billed" to government programs, meaning vulnerable patients and their families were deceived about the nature of their own healthcare enrollment.

Seven individuals were charged in a 43-count superseding indictment: Dera Ogudo (Richmond, TX), Victoria Martinez (Richmond, TX), Hattie Banks (Humble, TX), Lydia Obere (Houston, TX), Cheryl Brooks (Houston, TX), Ena Cowart (Missouri City, TX), and Evelyn Shaw (Houston, TX). The indictment was returned October 5, 2025, with four new defendants arrested and three previously in custody.

Primary Source: Four More Charged In $110 Million Hospice Fraud Scheme