Four indicted in health care fraud scheme against Culinary union

A federal grand jury indicted four women this week on charges they unlawfully organized a scheme to collect funds from the Culinary union for unauthorized cosmetic surgeries performed in Mexico.

Rebeca Acosta, 46, of Chula Vista, Calif.; Ana Bertha Acosta, 39, of Dulzura, Calif.; and Sara Casales, 47, and Lucia Solano, 49, both of Las Vegas, were arrested on health care fraud charges.

The Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union Welfare Fund was billed about $4.9 million in claims for medical procedures performed outside the country, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The government claims the women held consultations for prospective cosmetic surgery patients in Summerlin.

The defendants are alleged to have arranged for the surgeries at a Tijuana, Mexico, clinic. Claims filed with the union indicated the patients had to undergo emergency surgery while visiting Mexico. The union health care plan does not cover cosmetic surgery.