Nigerian traditional ruler Nathan Ogbatue has come under scrutiny in the United States over the rapid growth of his California home healthcare business, which received more than $34 million in Medicaid payments over three years amid allegations of suspicious billing patterns.
An investigation by City Journal found that California Home Health Agency (CHHA), where Ogbatue is chief executive officer, received less than $2 million from Medicaid between 2018 and 2021. Its payments subsequently surged to almost $4 million in 2022, more than $17 million in 2023 and over $13 million in 2024.
The dramatic increase coincided with a period in which Ogbatue and his wife, Agnes, accumulated at least $7 million worth of California real estate.
The properties included a $2.7 million mansion in Riverside, a $1.9 million beach house and another $1.4 million worth of Riverside properties acquired between 2023 and 2024, according to the investigation.
From $89,570 to $17 million in Medicaid payments
CHHA’s transformation from a relatively small healthcare provider into a multimillion-dollar recipient of public healthcare funds is at the heart of the investigation.
In 2018, the company received only $89,570 from Medicaid.
By 2022, its payments had climbed to nearly $4 million.
The following year, CHHA received more than $17 million before collecting over $13 million in 2024.
Haywood Talcove, CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions for Government, reviewed CHHA’s Medicaid data for City Journal and said the extraordinary volume of services being billed stood out.
“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 said CHHA moved from 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.
Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid programme, which provides healthcare coverage to eligible low-income residents and is funded by taxpayers.
Questions About Company
Mark Haskins, a fraud specialist and former investigator for the US Department of Agriculture, also reviewed information about CHHA.
He raised concerns about the company’s billing totals, its apparently small office and the absence of mandatory utilisation reports.
Haskins said the combination of large billing volumes, uncertainty over the company’s employees and missing regulatory information had characteristics he had encountered in fraudulent healthcare operations.
“If the CHHA claims over 100 clinicians on 1099s, submitting an accurate HCAI report would create a permanent, public audit trail,” Haskins said, referring to the reporting system used by California’s health information agency.
He questioned why CHHA had not supplied the state with utilisation data that could help establish the scale of its operations.
CHHA has existed since at least 2013, when Agnes Ogbatue submitted its first publicly listed utilisation report.
According to City Journal, she appears to have filed the mandatory report every year through 2019.
The California Department of Health Care Access and Information subsequently told the publication that it had not received a report from CHHA despite continued requests.
That omission became more significant as the company’s Medicaid revenue accelerated.
How Ogbatue’s property wealth grew
The expansion of CHHA’s Medicaid revenue occurred alongside an extraordinary increase in the Ogbatues’ real estate holdings.
The couple purchased at least $7 million worth of property in California between 2023 and 2024.
Their Riverside mansion includes six bedrooms and six bathrooms, as well as a sports court, putting green, archery range and swimming pool.
They also purchased a $1.9 million property in Redondo Beach.
The Redondo Beach transaction attracted additional attention because of the property’s previous connection to Tamara Motley, a woman who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2023 after being convicted in connection with a $24 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Before Ogbatue acquired the property, it had reportedly been used as collateral for Motley’s bail bond.
Motley was married, as of 2023, to former Nigerian Senator Ahmed Ogembe. City Journal reported that Ogbatue and his wife named Ogembe as a defendant in litigation concerning the sale of the property.
There is no indication in the report that the property connection establishes any involvement by Ogbatue in Motley’s Medicare fraud.
Ogbatue however rejected the suggestion that his wealth resulted from illegal activity.
“We worked really hard, to be honest with you. If we were doing anything funny we wouldn’t talk to you,” he told City Journal.
“I’m talking to you because I have nothing to fear. What I’m telling you is that we worked hard.”
The publication said it spoke with Ogbatue by telephone three times. During two of those conversations, he declined to provide an estimate of how many people CHHA employed.
The company’s website does not identify Ogbatue or Agnes as its owners or executives, according to the investigation.
From California Healthcare Provider to Nigerian Chief
Ogbatue was crowned chief of Abatete, a farming community in Anambra State, in 2012. Since then, he has become known locally for philanthropy and community development.
Social-media videos portray Ogbatue as a major benefactor who has supported road construction, housing, medical outreaches, food distribution and community infrastructure.
In December 2025, he arrived in a motorcade at a newly constructed palace in Abatete. Vdeos from the event showed supporters praising him in Igbo and celebrating the palace, which was reportedly funded by him.
Other projects associated with the Ogbatues include renovations to the town’s civic centre, which reportedly features murals of the couple as well as two golden statues depicting them.
