Benesch Secures Full Dismissal of All Criminal Charges Against CarePlus Hospice Services Owners in Major California Healthcare Fraud Prosecution

Benesch is proud to announce that its White Collar, Government Investigations & Regulatory Compliance Practice Group secured the complete dismissal of all criminal charges against Mohammed Abdul Majid Siddiqui, owner of CarePlus Hospice Services, Inc., in a high-profile healthcare fraud prosecution brought by the California Department of Justice. The dismissal, granted on July 7, 2026, by Judge Allan F. Jose in the Superior Court of California, San Joaquin County, marked a decisive victory for the defense.

Mr. Siddiqui and six other officers and employees of CarePlus Hospice Services were indicted by the State of California in connection with an alleged healthcare fraud conspiracy involving more than $7 million in purportedly fraudulent billing related to the provision of hospice care services. The case, filed under Case No. STK-CR-FECOD-2025-0013875, charged Mr. Siddiqui with two counts of healthcare insurance fraud in violation of Penal Code § 550(a)(5), one count of Medi-Cal fraud in violation of Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14107(b)(4), and conspiracy to commit healthcare insurance fraud in violation of Penal Code §§ 182(a)(1) and 550(a)(5).

The Benesch case team filed a series of aggressive pretrial motions, culminating in a successful Penal Code § 995 motion to dismiss. Judge Jose agreed with the defense’s arguments in their entirety, finding that the prosecution had failed to provide evidence of Mr. Siddiqui’s involvement in any alleged fraud or conspiracy. The Court concluded that the State of California did not have sufficient grounds to continue the prosecution.

Although the nature of the § 995 motion afforded the prosecution the option to re-present the case to a grand jury and begin the process anew, the State elected not to pursue the charges any further. The prosecution’s decision to accept the dismissal, rather than attempt to restart proceedings, underscored the strength of Benesch’s advocacy throughout the investigation and prosecution.

The Benesch team was led by Christopher T. Grohman, Ryan J. Levitt and Catherine Sikorski.