Gov’t seizes more than $2M from wound care clinic

LOS ANGELES – A federal court has granted a request from the United States to seize more than $2 million from a Pasadena-based advanced wound care clinic accused of defrauding Medicare for reimbursements for skin graft substitutes and skin grafts that were never performed on patients, the Justice Department announced April 28. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia G. Rosenberg authorized the government’s request to seize up to approximately $2,039,792 from a bank account linked to Expert Wound Care PC. According to an affidavit filed with a federal seizure warrant, from September 2025 to April 2026, Expert Wound Care allegedly submitted more than $46.6 million in claims to Medicare for skin substitute products and wound care services purportedly provided to 78 beneficiaries. Medicare approved payments of approximately $34,031,382 on these claims, which included skin substitutes and skin grafts, as well as skin application procedures. According to the affidavit, the clinic increased its Medicare billing from $4,975 in July 2025 to approximately $33 million in December 2025. Expert Wound Care averaged approximately $37,449 in allowed amount per claim for substitute skin grafts from July 2025 to March 2026, more than double the national average. The clinic’s percentage of total beneficiaries receiving substitute skin grafts of 38.5%, more than six times the national average of 6%. Its percentage of total claims for substitute skin grafts was 63%, approximately nine times the national average. Finally, Expert Wound Care’s percentage of total allowed amount for substitute skin grafts was 99.9%, more than double the national average. Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General are investigating this matter.