SAN ANTONIO – United States Attorney Justin R. Simmons announced criminal charges against Christina Charles, 52, in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown.
Charles is charged by indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to solicit and receive health care kickbacks in connection with a hospice fraud scheme. As alleged in the indictment, Charles received illegal kickbacks in return for referring patients to multiple San Antonio area hospice companies. Based on those referrals, Charles caused the submission of over $9 million in claims for hospice services that were procured through illegal kickbacks and bribes and ineligible for Medicare reimbursement. Medicare paid approximately $3 million based on those claims. The case is being…
Insurance fraud involves making false or exaggerated claims to an insurance provider.
- Hard Fraud: Someone deliberately causes a loss (e.g., setting fire to a warehouse or staging a car accident) specifically to collect a payout.
- Soft Fraud: More common and often viewed as “victimless” by the perpetrator. It involves exaggerating a legitimate claim, such as overstating the value of stolen items in a home burglary to cover the deductible.