Las Vegas Nurse Practitioner From the Philippines Indicted in Massive $906 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

HOUSTON, Texas - A 49-year-old nurse practitioner from Las Vegas has been indicted in what federal prosecutors describe as one of the largest health care fraud cases in U.S. history.

Marizel Cambri Yukee, a Filipino-American originally from Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines, faces multiple federal charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, illegal kickbacks, and transactional money laundering.

According to a federal indictment filed June 18, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Yukee allegedly owned and controlled four mobile wound care clinics operating in Texas, Nevada, California, and Hawaii. Prosecutors say she and co-conspirators targeted elderly Medicare beneficiaries, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, and billed for medically unnecessary amniotic wound allografts.

The scheme allegedly generated approximately $906 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and TRICARE, of which about $297 million was paid out. Authorities claim Yukee submitted claims for procedures performed on infected, healed, or non-responsive wounds without prior conservative treatment, falsified patient records, and paid illegal kickbacks to secure patient referrals.

Federal agents have seized significant assets allegedly tied to the fraud, including a $594,000 Ferrari 296 GTS, seven other vehicles, approximately $467,000 in cash, luxury jewelry such as an $865,000 Bulgari necklace, and multiple Nevada properties - one of them located on Money Street in Pahrump. Prosecutors also allege proceeds funded construction of a $4.6 million beach resort in Santa Ana, Cagayan, Philippines.

Yukee was arrested in Houston and has pleaded not guilty. She is currently under home detention.

The case is part of the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, announced by the Department of Justice as the largest coordinated enforcement action of its kind. The nationwide effort charged 455 defendants, including doctors and other licensed medical professionals, in connection with more than $6.5 billion in alleged false claims.The allegations against Yukee remain unproven in court, and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Santa Monica Observer will continue to monitor developments in this case.