Van Nuys Medical Plaza With 150+ Registered Hospice and Home-Health Agencies Seen as Major Medicare Fraud Red Flag
State and federal records show Merabi Professional Medical Plaza, a three‑story building in Van Nuys, has been listed as the address for dozens of providers — CBS identified 89 hospices, Fox’s review found 50 hospices and 97 home‑health agencies (147 total), and a March 2022 state auditor report found more than 150 agencies tied to the site, a number the auditor said exceeds the building’s apparent physical capacity. Advocates and auditors call this kind of “clustering” a major Medicare‑fraud red flag after federal inspectors documented repeated visits from 2021–2025 and nearly 400 violations at 75 companies; the building owner says only about 12 hospices actually operate there and that he rents virtual‑office addresses, while regulators note hospices must maintain a physical office and can face license action if they move without notifying authorities.
📌 Key Facts
- A March 2022 California State Auditor report found more than 150 hospice and home‑health agencies registered to the same Van Nuys building and warned that this number “exceeds the structure’s apparent physical capacity.”
- The auditor’s report also documented about a 1,500% increase in hospice agencies in Los Angeles County since 2010 and said the county had roughly six‑and‑a‑half times the nationwide average number of hospice agencies relative to its aged population in 2019.
- Local reporting shows differing counts tied to the Merabi Professional Medical Plaza (a three‑story Van Nuys/Los Angeles office building): CBS reported state records listing 89 hospices licensed to the building, while Fox News found 50 hospice companies and 97 home‑health agencies (147 providers total) registered there.
- Federal inspection data cited by CBS and verified by Fox show regulators visited the building repeatedly between 2021 and 2025 and documented nearly 400 violations across 75 companies housed at the address.
- Advocates and state auditors described the site as one of the most extreme examples of “clustering,” a pattern regulators consider a major red flag for possible Medicare fraud.
- Building owner Kambiz Merabi told reporters he believes the businesses are legitimate, says his records show only 12 hospice companies actually operating at the address, and markets the property online as a “virtual office” that companies can pay to use as their address.
- Federal law requires hospices to maintain a physical office, and California law allows license revocation for facilities that move without notifying regulators, providing a regulatory mechanism for enforcement if firms are not genuinely operating at the listed address.
📊 Relevant Data
In a 2025 California hospice fraud scheme involving $16 million, three of the four sham hospice companies were owned by foreign nationals, highlighting the involvement of non-U.S. citizens in such fraud operations.
Two California Residents Plead Guilty in Connection with $16M Hospice Fraud Scheme and Money Laundering — U.S. Department of Justice
A 2022 California state audit estimated that hospice agencies in Los Angeles County overbilled Medicare by approximately $105 million in 2019, driven by fraudulent practices enabled by lax oversight and clustering of agencies.
Fraud plagues California's hospice industry, audit finds — Los Angeles Times
Armenian-Americans, who comprise about 1-2% of Los Angeles County's population, have been accused by federal officials of significant involvement in hospice and home health fraud, with references to a 'Russian, Armenian mafia' in schemes amounting to billions.
Oz Says California's Not Fighting Health Care Fraud. Data Shows a ... — U.S. News & World Report
Since 2021, California's Department of Justice has charged over 100 people with hospice-related fraud, with ongoing efforts revoking more than 280 licenses, indicating widespread enforcement against fraudulent operations.
California Revokes 280 Hospice Licenses in Fraud Fight — Hospice News
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Fox News Digital review of California state records found 50 hospice companies and 97 home health agencies registered to the Merabi Professional Medical Plaza, for a total of 147 providers tied to the Van Nuys address.
- A March 2022 California State Auditor report is cited as having previously found more than 150 agencies registered to that same building and warning that this number 'exceeds the structure’s apparent physical capacity.'
- The auditor’s report highlighted a roughly 1,500% increase in hospice agencies in Los Angeles County since 2010 and noted the county had 'six-and-a-half times' the nationwide average number of hospice agencies relative to its aged population in 2019.
- CBS‑cited federal inspection data, verified by Fox via federal records, show regulators visited the building repeatedly between 2021 and 2025 and found nearly 400 violations at 75 companies housed there.
- Building owner Kambiz Merabi told CBS he believes the businesses are legitimate and says his records show only 12 hospice companies actually operating at the address, while he markets the property online as a 'virtual office' location companies can pay to use as their address.
- The article notes that federal law requires hospices to have a physical office, and that under California law facilities that move without notifying the government can have their licenses revoked, underscoring a regulatory hook for enforcement.
- The CBS item is essentially the video packaging of the same investigation, reiterating that state records show 89 hospices licensed to a single three‑story Los Angeles office building.
- Advocates quoted by CBS explicitly describe the site as one of the most extreme examples of "clustering," echoing state auditors’ characterization of such patterns as major red flags for possible fraud.
- The article/video text here adds no new numbers, regulatory actions, or identified companies beyond what is already captured in the existing summary.