Federal authorities on Tuesday charged 10 Southern California defendants in a series of healthcare fraud schemes, including one case involving nearly $270 million in fraudulent Medi-Cal claims and another that allegedly defrauded Medicare out of approximately $27 million.

The charges were part of the Justice Department’s broader “2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown,” which resulted in charges against 455 defendants nationwide in schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in alleged fraud.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the operation as “the greatest combined federal and state effort in combating healthcare fraud in history.”

“Fraudsters can no longer rip off American taxpayers,” Blanche said during a news conference announcing the initiative. “If you seek to harm or cheat Americans, we will find you, seize any assets and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL

In the Central District of California, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against 10 defendants accused of defrauding government-funded healthcare programs or abusing their positions as medical professionals to illegally prescribe controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said five individuals were arrested in the greater Los Angeles area for allegedly participating in a scheme that involved submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal for expensive prescription drugs.

Among those charged was Christina Mareik, 61, also known as Christina Marie Sanchez Hernandez, of Whittier.

HOSPICE FRAUD USES STOLEN IDENTITIES FOR FAKE PATIENTS

Prosecutors allege Mareik helped facilitate fraudulent prescriptions that generated nearly $270 million in claims to Medi-Cal, which ultimately paid out more than $178 million.

According to prosecutors, the claims involved expensive drugs containing low-cost generic ingredients that were either not medically necessary or were never provided to the purported recipients.

Authorities said Mareik also sent thousands of fraudulent prescriptions to a co-conspirator and caused the submission of fraudulent prescriptions under her own name.

LOS ANGELES HOSPICE FRAUD REACHES BILLIONS AS MEDICARE PROVIDERS SCAM FEDERAL SYSTEM WITH FAKE COMPANIES

Mareik was arrested June 17 and charged with healthcare fraud.

The charges also include a San Fernando Valley man accused of operating hospice care companies that fraudulently billed Medicare approximately $27 million, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors also charged Oren David Shachar, 59, of Van Nuys; Abraham Shin, 66, of Corona; and Jeannie Choi, 57, of Torrance.

The three defendants face a 16-count indictment alleging they conspired to defraud Medicare out of approximately $27 million.

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The charges include conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, monetary transactions involving criminally derived property exceeding $10,000, and violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

The IPOs of SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic could deliver billions of dollars to California’s coffers.

We’ve seen this movie before.

In 2022, California recorded a nearly $100 billion surplus, saved just $10 billion in its rainy day fund and then spent the rest. Two years later, a $56 billion deficit loomed.

Now, with the state facing ongoing operating deficits of more than $10 billion, we’re back in familiar territory.

CHICO, Calif. — A shooting at a library in Northern California on Monday left two people dead and a suspect is in custody, according to police.

Police responded to a 911 call soon after 5 p.m. in which the sounds of gun shots and people screaming could be heard coming from inside the Chico branch of the Butte County Library, Billy Aldridge, the city’s chief of police, said during a news conference.

Once officers were inside the library, the suspect fled out of the back, he said. Additional law enforcement behind the library took the suspect into custody, according to Aldridge.

“The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community,” he said.

The streets around the library were closed temporarily and a family reunification center was set up for the people who were inside the building.

A child was also taken to the hospital with a minor injury.

Aldridge said there is no serious threat to the public and law enforcement are investigating the shooting.

The police didn’t release the suspect’s name nor details on what prompted the shooting. Law enforcement said they believe the shooter acted alone.

Law enforcement are also not releasing the names of the people killed until next of kin have been notified.

The county urged the public to avoid the area and said all Butte County library branches will be closed Tuesday.

The county in a post on Facebook offered “deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident.”