Two Inglewood Women Get Prison Sentences for Health Care Fraud and Fraudulently Billing Medi-Cal for Substance Abuse Counseling

Los Angeles, CA – An Inglewood woman and her mother-in-law, who both ran a South Los Angeles drug-and-alcohol abuse treatment program, were sentenced today to federal prison for scheming to defraud Medi-Cal out of over $500,000 for services to clients who did not medically need substance abuse treatment and for services that were never provided.

Mesbel Mohamoud, 48, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, who also sentenced Mohamoud’s mother-in-law, Erlinda Abella, 66, also of Inglewood, to one year and one day in federal prison. Each woman was ordered to pay $260,101 in restitution.

Mohamoud and Abella pleaded guilty in November 2020 to one count of health care fraud.

Read the full press release.  US Department of Justice, April 28, 2021

NICB assisted with this investigation