US-Based Nigerian CEO Arrested At San Francisco Airport For Alleged $7Million Veterans Affairs Fraud

Cashmir Chinedu Luke, a U.S.-based Nigerian businessman, has been arrested at San Francisco International Airport over allegations that he orchestrated a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for nearly five years.

Federal prosecutors say that Luke, 66, the CEO and sole owner of Fresno-based Four Corners Health LLC, was detained while attempting to board a flight to Nigeria. 

His arrest follows the filing of a criminal complaint accusing him of fraudulently obtaining more than $7 million in VA reimbursements for home health care services that were never provided, including care purportedly delivered to veterans weeks after they had died.

U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced the charges on Thursday.

According to court filings, Luke operated Four Corners Health LLC between December 2019 and July 2024, offering unskilled in-home nursing and routine daily care for elderly veterans under the Veterans Community Care Program. 

The company provided services in Fresno, Tulare, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, San Francisco, and Contra Costa counties.

Investigators allege that Luke engaged in a five-year scheme to bill the VA for hours of care that were not actually rendered to veterans. 

Investigators also allege that Luke used his company to submit approximately 10,000 individual false claims of care provided that caused the VA, through its third-party benefits administrator, to reimburse Four Corners $7 million for duplicate claims for care actually provided, claims for days caretakers were not present with veterans, claims for hours of care beyond those actually worked by caretakers, and claims of care for veterans who were actually dead.

Prosecutors say Luke served as the sole owner and billing representative for Four Corners and actively deceived the VA’s third-party benefits administrator as it attempted to recover some of the fraudulently paid reimbursements. 

This deception, they allege, allowed the scheme to continue undetected for years.

Authorities claim Luke personally profited from the scheme as the sole owner of the bank account that received the reimbursement payments.

Luke spent reimbursement payments immediately after being paid by the VA, either by spending lavishly on personal expenses or by promptly transferring the funds across a network of bank accounts throughout Asia and Africa. 

As the only signatory on the company’s bank account, he allegedly had exclusive control over the disbursed funds.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin Lee.

Luke is charged with health care fraud, and if convicted, he faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Federal prosecutors emphasized that the charges remain allegations, noting that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. 

“The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted.