US court orders home detention for Filipina nurse in healthcare fraud case

NEW YORK — A Filipina nurse accused of involvement in a nearly $1-billion healthcare fraud scheme in the United States has been arrested and ordered to undergo home detention.

On June 18, a federal court in Texas issued an arrest warrant for Marizel Yukee on multiple fraud-related charges.

According to court documents, Yukee was arrested in Houston, Texas, on June 22 and was brought before US Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho of United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division for her initial appearance and arraignment.

She faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, transactional money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and offering, paying, soliciting, and receiving healthcare kickbacks.

Yukee entered a not guilty plea to all charges.

The court granted her conditional release pending trial, allowing her to remain under home detention after posting a $600,000-secured bond and a $400,000-unsecured bond.

The unsecured bond does not have to be paid upfront. However, if Yukee violates the conditions of her release or fails to appear in court, she could be ordered to pay the full amount.

This type of bond is commonly imposed in serious criminal cases as an additional financial deterrent against noncompliance.

The court order states that home detention restricts Yukee to her residence at all times except for employment, education, health treatment, lawyer visits, court appearances, and court-ordered or approved activities.

As part of the conditions of her release, the court ordered Yukee to surrender her passport and participate in a location monitoring program, which requires her to wear a GPS ankle monitor to electronically track her whereabouts while she remains under home detention.

Yukee, a 49-year-old nurse practitioner from Las Vegas, is accused of orchestrating a $906-million Medicare and TRICARE fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary amniotic wound allografts.

Prosecutors allege that she operated four mobile wound care clinics across four states, targeting elderly and terminally ill hospice patients, falsifying medical records, and paying illegal kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals.

Authorities say the scheme resulted in approximately $297 million in Medicare and TRICARE reimbursements. Investigators also seized about $35.2 million in assets, including cash, luxury vehicles such as a Ferrari 296 GTS, and high-value jewelry.

Court records show that prosecutors indicated that some of the proceeds from her alleged scheme was used for the construction of $4.6-million beach resort in Santa Ana, Cagayan.

GMA News Online has requested comment from Yukee, but she has yet to respond as of posting time.

The Philippine Nurses Association of America, meanwhile, has yet to respond to a request for comment from GMA News Online. — VDV, GMA News