An Orange County resident has been charged with submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal over an 11-month period. The charges were announced by the Justice Department as part of its 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown.
Paul Richard Randall, aged 66, is accused of aiding and abetting health care fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Randall appeared in United States District Court in Los Angeles and was denied bail. His arraignment is set for July 17.
The Takedown resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants across the United States, including medical professionals, for their alleged involvement in health care fraud schemes amounting to over $14.6 billion in intended loss. Federal and state law enforcement agencies collaborated on this effort.
As part of the enforcement actions, authorities seized more than $245 million in assets. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported preventing over $4 billion from being paid out due to false claims and suspended or revoked billing privileges for 205 providers.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated, “This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers.” United States Attorney Bill Essayli added that public health programs are meant to assist those in need rather than enrich unscrupulous individuals.
Randall allegedly worked with Kyrollos Mekail and Patricia Anderson to exploit Medi-Cal’s suspension of prior authorization requirements during a transition to a new payment system. They billed Medi-Cal tens of millions monthly through Monte Vista Pharmacy for non-contracted generic drugs that were often unnecessary or not provided.
Between May 2022 and April 2023, Monte Vista billed over $269 million to Medi-Cal, receiving payments exceeding $178 million for medications containing low-cost ingredients. Randall and his associates reportedly laundered proceeds from the scheme by transferring funds to pay kickbacks and conceal transactions from law enforcement.
Anderson faces separate charges related to her role in the scheme, while Mekail pleaded guilty last year and awaits sentencing. The investigation involves the HHS-OIG, FBI, and California Department of Justice.
Prosecutors handling the case include Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger A. Hsieh, Assistant Chief Niall M. O’Donnell, Trial Attorney Siobhan M. Namazi, and Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Dochterman overseeing asset forfeiture matters.
