LOS ANGELES
An Orange County man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a massive health care fraud scheme that billed Medi-Cal nearly $270 million for unnecessary or nonexistent prescription drugs over less than a year, federal prosecutors said.
Quick facts:
— Defendant: Paul Richard Randall, 66, of Orange
— Charge: Wire fraud committed while on release
— Fraud billed: ~$269.1 million
— Paid by Medi-Cal: ~$178.7 million
— Timeframe: May 2022 to April 2023 (11 months)
— Sentencing: Aug. 3; faces up to 30 years in prison
Randall pleaded guilty Monday and has been in federal custody since June 2025.
“This defendant used a public health program as his personal piggy bank,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
According to his plea agreement, Randall and co-schemers Kyrollos Mekail, 37, of Moreno Valley, and Patricia Anderson, 58, of West Hills, exploited a temporary suspension of Medi-Cal’s prior authorization requirement during a transition to a new prescription drug payment system.
Operating through Monte Vista Pharmacy, the group billed Medi-Cal tens of millions of dollars per month for high-reimbursement medications that contained inexpensive generic ingredients, were medically unnecessary, or were never provided to patients, authorities said.
Prosecutors said the scheme targeted 19 costly, non-contracted drugs. Some prescriptions were purportedly for pain treatment, including Folite tablets, a vitamin available over the counter, according to officials
In total, Medi-Cal paid more than $178 million on the claims.
Randall admitted transmitting approximately $269.1 million in fraudulent claims tied to prescriptions written by Anderson. Authorities said the conspirators also laundered proceeds through third parties to pay kickbacks and conceal the scheme.
Mekail previously pleaded guilty in August 2024 to two counts of health care fraud and is awaiting sentencing. Anderson has been charged with two counts of health care fraud.