Las Vegas resident Marizel Yukee, a nurse practitioner originally from Tuguegarao City, now stands accused of running a scheme that bilked two US government health programs out of close to a billion dollars, according to a federal indictment.
The case centers on wound-care treatments that prosecutors say were never medically warranted. Investigators allege Yukee operated four clinics — in Texas, Nevada, California and Hawaii — and used them to bill Medicare and TRICARE for services that vulnerable patients did not need. Among those targeted, prosecutors said, were elderly and terminally ill people, including patients already in hospice care.
The financial scale laid out in the indictment is striking. GMA News reported that between October 2023 and April 2025, Yukee and others working with her filed more than US$906 million (around P51.6 billion) in fraudulent claims. Of that, the two programs paid out roughly US$297 million (about P16.9 billion) before the alleged fraud was uncovered.
Prosecutors say the operation depended on illegal payments moving in two directions. Yukee allegedly handed kickbacks to providers who steered patients toward her clinics, while separately pocketing millions from the distributors who supplied the wound grafts she used. Patient records, authorities allege, were doctored to make unnecessary procedures appear legitimate.
The two programs she is accused of defrauding serve distinct populations. Medicare covers Americans aged 65 and older, along with younger people who have specific disabilities and patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease or ALS. TRICARE handles coverage for active-duty service members, military retirees, National Guard and Reserve personnel, and their families.
Court documents describe where the money allegedly went. Prosecutors pointed to a Ferrari supercar valued at more than US$500,000 (about P28.5 million), an US$865,000 (around P49.3 million) Bulgari necklace, and a US$1-million (about P57-million) residence in Hawaii. The indictment also cites a US$4.6-million (around P262.2-million) beach resort under construction in Santa Ana, Cagayan.
Federal authorities are now moving to seize a range of assets — properties, vehicles, bank accounts and more — that they say are tied to the scheme.
Yukee faces several counts: conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, healthcare fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive illegal kickbacks, and money laundering. She is presumed innocent unless a court finds otherwise. The US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, has already issued a warrant for her arrest.
