The source said it didn't matter whether the patients were currently using drugs or not, or whether they had underlying psychiatric issues.
Delgadillo said patients received treatment for conditions including dehydration, a yeast infection and a cardiopulmonary disorder that "didn't exist." One patient, referred to in the city attorney's lawsuit as "Recruit X," suffered from a mental disorder and was sent by the Assessment Center to all three of the medical centers.
At one of the hospitals, the lawsuit says, the patient was given a nitroglycerin patch for a nonexistent cardiopulmonary condition, causing a precipitous drop in her blood pressure. The treatment, said Delgadillo "put her in peril."
Wednesday's crackdown sends a message that "those who would seek to defraud our healthcare system, and those who would callously exploit mentally impaired and drug-addicted homeless men and women to turn a profit will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Delgadillo said.
In addition to Mitts and Sabaratnam, the city attorney's civil lawsuit names Pacific Health Corp.; Los Angeles Doctors Hospital Corp., which operates Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center, corporation Chief Executive John Fenton and admitting physician Frederick Rundall; and Tustin Hospital and Medical Center, Chief Executive Daniel Davis, Chief Financial Officer Vincent Rubio and admitting physicians Kenneth Thaler and Al-Reza Tajik. Also named are Intercare Health Systems Inc., which owns and operates City of Angels Medical Center, and Robert Borseau, who, like Sabaratnam, was an owner/officer.
Most of the defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Tustin hospital was allegedly guaranteed 40 to 50 patients a month; City of Angels got 25 to 30. Metropolitan Medical Center received patients whenever beds were available, according to the suit. City attorneys allege that the admitting Drs. Rundall, Thaler and Tajik did not see the patients until shortly before their discharge. City attorneys allege that for patient referrals, Mitts' group was paid $20,000 per month each from Metropolitan Medical Center and Tustin, while City of Angels paid between $400 to $1,000 a week to the recruiting group.
The suit also alleges that Rubio, the Tustin hospital's chief financial officer, personally received a $3,500-a-month kickback from Mitts' group to ensure that Tustin continued to take homeless patients from the skid row center.
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cara.dimassa@latimes.com
richard.winton@latimes.com
rich.connell@latimes.com
Times staff writer Sue Horton contributed to this report.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Alleged scam
Here is how the alleged medical center treatment scam worked, according to authorities:
- Runners are paid $20 to $40 per head to recruit skid row denizens.
- Skid row recruits are directed to a storefront facility, where their eligibility for medical benefits is verified and phony medical conditions are invented.
- The "patients" spend one to three days in a hospital . . .
- . . . and then return to the storefront center, where they are paid $20 to $30.
- The storefront center bills the hospital for the recruits.
Sources: Court documents, offices of the U.S. attorney and city attorney
