Nigerian CEO Nabbed at San Francisco Airport Over $7M Fraud

San Francisco, USA – A U.S.-based Nigerian businessman, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, has been arrested at San Francisco International Airport for allegedly orchestrating a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme targeting the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Federal prosecutors allege that Luke, 66, CEO and sole owner of Fresno-based Four Corners Health LLC, engaged in a nearly five-year scheme to bill the VA for home health care services that were never provided. The scheme reportedly involved over 10,000 false claims totaling more than $7 million, including services billed weeks after some veterans had passed away.

Luke was detained while attempting to board a flight to Nigeria, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced on Thursday. Court filings indicate that Four Corners Health LLC operated from December 2019 to July 2024, providing in-home care to elderly veterans across Fresno, Tulare, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, San Francisco, and Contra Costa counties under the Veterans Community Care Program.

Investigators say Luke acted as the company’s sole owner and billing representative, personally profiting from the fraudulent reimbursements. Authorities allege that he immediately spent the payments on lavish personal expenses or transferred them across a network of bank accounts in Asia and Africa.

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Prosecutors contend that the deception allowed the fraudulent scheme to continue undetected for years, despite the VA’s third-party benefits administrator attempting to recover some of the payments.

Luke faces charges of health care fraud, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. Officials emphasized that these charges are allegations and that Luke is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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