How a California crook committed $178 million worth of health care fraud — in just one year

A California man pleaded guilty on Monday to stealing millions of dollars in taxpayer funds through his participation in a prescription drug fraud scheme, the Department of Justice reported.

Paul Richard Randall, a 66-year-old man from Orange County, has admitted to submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program, from May 2022 to April 2023.

‘This guilty plea should send a message that this administration — consistent with the president’s war on fraud — will not turn a blind eye while criminals fleece taxpayers.’

As part of his plea agreement, Randall confessed that he and his alleged accomplices took advantage of Medi-Cal by exploiting a policy change. The government program suspended the requirement for health care providers to obtain prior authorization before delivering services and medications for reimbursement while transitioning its prescription drug program to a new payment system.

Randall billed Medi-Cal millions of dollars each month for dispensing high-reimbursement, non-contracted, generic drugs through a pharmacy, including some pain medications. One such medication was Folite tablets, a vitamin available over the counter.

The DOJ contended that of the $270 million billed, Medi-Cal paid more than $178 million for 19 drugs that were either medically unnecessary, not provided to the patients, or both.

The funds provided by Medi-Cal were laundered to a third party to pay kickbacks to Randall and his alleged co-schemers.

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Randall has been in federal custody since June 2025 and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He faces up to 30 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 3.

One of Randall’s accomplices, Kyrollos Mekail, a 37-year-old from Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to two counts of health care fraud. Mekail is awaiting sentencing.

A second alleged co-conspirator is charged with two counts of health care fraud.

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“This defendant used a public health program as his personal piggy bank,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said of Randall. “This guilty plea should send a message that this administration — consistent with the president’s war on fraud — will not turn a blind eye while criminals fleece taxpayers.”

“Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, the Department, working closely with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is supercharging efforts to take down every fraudster and bring them to justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

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