Maki Martinez-Gruninger pleaded guilty to defrauding California's Medi-Cal health insurance program and will serve two years in prison for stealing more than $400,000 from the state, the California Attorney General announced.
The scheme involved fraudulently registering as an in-home caregiver for a disabled family member. According to the Department of Justice, Martinez-Gruninger secretly applied to become an In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) provider in November 2007 and submitted false claims to the program for over a decade. The actual caregiver discovered the fraud in December 2019.
Martinez-Gruninger claimed approximately $413,643 in false IHSS and Respite Care payments and pleaded guilty to a single felony count of submitting false Medi-Cal claims.
"Let this conviction serve as a clear warning to anyone attempting to defraud Medi-Cal: You will be found out and held fully accountable," said Attorney General Rob Bonta.