Seven individuals including owners of three hospice organizations in Monterey County arrested and charged with multiple felonies in coordinated California DOJ/HHS-OIG hospice fraud enforcement action.

Compassionate Touch / Spiritual Touch / Fountain Hospice — California Hospice Fraud

Outcome: Seven individuals including owners and physicians from three Monterey County hospice organizations arrested and charged with multiple felonies on February 5, 2026.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the arrests of seven individuals connected to fraudulent hospice operations in Monterey County. The seven defendants span ownership and clinical staff across three separate hospice organizations: Compassionate Touch Hospice, Spiritual Touch Hospice, and Fountain Hospice.

Arrested individuals included one owner who operated both Compassionate Touch and Spiritual Touch Hospice, two co-owners of Fountain Hospice, three physicians, and one nurse. The involvement of multiple doctors and a nurse alongside facility owners indicates the fraud scheme penetrated clinical certification processes — a hallmark of hospice fraud where ineligible patients must be certified as terminally ill to qualify for Medicare hospice benefit payments.

The California Department of Justice's Medi-Cal Fraud Control Unit conducted the investigation in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Multiple felony charges were filed against all seven defendants.

Primary Source: Attorney General Bonta Announces Seven Arrests for Hospice Fraud: My Office is On It!