Fraud · Thursday, September 10, 2026
California man gets 30 years in a $270 million Medi-Cal drug scheme
The File desk · Sep 10, 2026, 2:08 PM UTC
Status
Confirmed from a Justice Department Office of Public Affairs release dated Sept. 9, 2026. Randall was sentenced that day.
Paul Richard Randall told the government he had shipped expensive drugs. A lot of that, prosecutors said, never reached patients. On Sept. 9 a federal court sentenced the 67-year-old from Orange, California, to 30 years in prison and ordered $178,746,556.22 in restitution. The Justice Department said he caused about $269.1 million in false Medi-Cal claims. Medi-Cal paid about $178.7 million. About $126.5 million in assets have been seized. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud in April 2026.
Paul Richard Randall told the government he had shipped expensive drugs. A lot of that, prosecutors said, never reached patients.
On Sept. 9 a federal court sentenced Randall, 67, of Orange, California, to 30 years in prison. He was ordered to pay $178,746,556.22 in restitution.
The Justice Department said that from May 2022 to April 2023 he caused at least $269,120,829 in false Medi-Cal claims. Medi-Cal paid about $178,746,556. The drugs included pain creams and a vitamin sold over the counter, billed at thousands of dollars a prescription.
He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in April 2026. The government said it has seized about $126.5 million in assets from the scheme.
The FBI, the Health and Human Services inspector general, and the California Department of Justice investigated.
What is still unknown or disputed
- How much of the seized $126.5 million will be returned to Medi-Cal is not set out as a final accounting in this release.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
California Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Orchestrating $270M Medication Reimbursement Fraud Scheme Targeting Medi-Cal
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs · September 9, 2026
Paul Richard Randall, 67, Orange, CA, sentenced 30 years; restitution $178,746,556.22; at least $269,120,829 false claims; Medi-Cal paid about $178.7 million; about $126.5 million assets seized; wire-fraud guilty plea April 2026.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-sentenced-30-years-orchestrating-270m-medication-reimbursement-fraud-scheme