The United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced on Apr. 28 that a federal court authorized the seizure of more than $2 million from Expert Wound Care PC, a Pasadena-based advanced wound care clinic accused of defrauding Medicare through false claims for skin graft procedures.
The case is significant due to the scale of alleged fraudulent activity and its impact on taxpayer-funded healthcare programs. According to court documents, between September 2025 and April 2026, Expert Wound Care submitted over $46.6 million in claims to Medicare for services purportedly provided to 78 beneficiaries.
A federal affidavit revealed that Medicare approved approximately $34 million in payments related to these claims, which included both skin substitutes and application procedures. The clinic’s average allowed amount per claim was more than double the national average during this period. In December 2025 alone, billing increased sharply from under $5,000 in July to about $33 million by year-end. One beneficiary’s total paid amount reached roughly $6.2 million, with an average payment per beneficiary close to $300,000.
From October 2025 through February 2026, Expert Wound Care billed over $2.6 million and received about $2 million for skin substitute grafts and related services supposedly provided to a single beneficiary; investigators found no evidence that these treatments occurred or that any home service was delivered as claimed during December.
Expert Wound Care’s percentage of beneficiaries receiving substitute skin grafts was six times higher than the national average at nearly 39 percent; its share of such claims stood at nine times the norm and accounted for almost all allowed amounts paid out by Medicare in this category during the period examined.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General are leading the investigation into these allegations. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan S. Galatzan is overseeing asset forfeiture proceedings related to this case.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California serves more than 19 million residents across seven counties according to its official website. The office focuses on prosecuting federal criminal cases and handling civil matters according to its official website, while also supporting community outreach through victim assistance programs according to its official website and working with law enforcement partners at all levels according to its official website. E. Martin Estrada has held the position of United States Attorney for this district according to its official website.
The Department of Justice has established a National Fraud Enforcement Division dedicated "to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars." These efforts support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud—described as "a whole-of-government effort chair by Vice President J.D. Vance"—which aims "to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within federal benefit programs."
