Nathan Ogbatue, a U.S.-based Nigerian businessman from Anambra State, is facing questions over about $36 million his healthcare company received from the U.S. government amid concerns over its operations and failure to submit mandatory utilisation reports for several years.

Ogbatue is the chief executive officer of California Home Health Agency (CHHA), a California-based company funded through the U.S. healthcare system to provide home health aide services, skilled nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and medical social services.

According to an investigation by the U.S. City State Journal, Ogbatue's company received about $36 million in government healthcare payments, with its revenue rising sharply during the same period it stopped filing its annual utilisation reports.

CHHA had filed utilisation reports in earlier years, including reports submitted by Ogbatue's wife, Agnes, from 2013 to 2019. However, the company subsequently stopped submitting the mandatory reports to California's Health Care Access and Information Department despite continued requests, according to the report.

The company recorded relatively modest revenue in earlier years. In 2018, CHHA made about $89,570, but its earnings increased substantially in subsequent years. The company reportedly received approximately $4 million in 2022, followed by $17 million in 2023 and $13 million in 2024.

The sharp increase in payments has raised questions about the scale of CHHA's operations, including its workforce and the number of healthcare services it provided to patients.

The period of increased healthcare revenue also coincided with Ogbatue's acquisition of several multimillion-dollar properties.

The businessman, who previously bought a home for about $330,000 in 2000, later acquired properties worth millions of dollars. They reportedly include a $2.7 million mansion, a $1.9 million beach house in Redondo Beach and another property valued at about $1.4 million.

Ogbatue has denied any wrongdoing and attributed his wealth to hard work.

“We worked really hard, to be honest with you,” he said, according to the *City State Journal*. “If we were doing anything funny, we wouldn’t talk to you.”

He also declined to disclose an estimate of the number of employees working for CHHA and suggested that the scrutiny against him could be influenced by his race.

“All the white people that made more money than me, have you ever chased them?” Ogbatue said.

He directed further questions to his lawyer, Wilfred Aka.

The investigation has also drawn comments from experts familiar with healthcare fraud and government healthcare programmes in the United States.

Mark Haskins, a fraud expert and former investigator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said CHHA's billing activity appeared inconsistent with the size of its office.

Haskins said the company's failure to submit mandatory utilisation reports for several years, combined with questions over its workforce and high volume of billing, were significant warning signs.

Haywood Talcove, CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions for Government, also reviewed CHHA's Medicaid data and raised concerns about the volume of services billed by the company.

“What jumps off the page is not the amount being charged for each service—it is the extraordinary volume of services being billed,” Talcove said.

He noted that the agency went from receiving roughly half a million dollars in annual Medi-Cal payments to $17 million in 2023, while reaching the highest levels statewide for the frequency of certain nursing and home-health-aide claims.

The questions surrounding CHHA come as U.S. authorities continue to investigate and prosecute cases involving alleged fraud in government-funded healthcare programmes. The U.S. Department of Justice has prosecuted numerous individuals and organisations accused of exploiting Medicaid and other public healthcare programmes.

Ogbatue, however, has not been accused of wrongdoing, and the concerns raised by the investigation do not establish that he or CHHA committed fraud.

In Abatete, his hometown in Anambra State, Ogbatue is known for philanthropy and community development. He has reportedly funded roads and housing projects and built a large residence in the community.

His contributions earned him a traditional chieftaincy title, Owelle, and made him a prominent figure among residents.