Payment to unlicensed home health care agency

[Chance33]

My mom broke her hip a couple of years ago & as a result had to hire a 24/7 caregiver thru a home health care agency. The caregiver needed to have specific nursing skills in order to dispense heart & other medications to my mom. The caregiver agency told my mom & the family that they were fully qualified & licensed to provide caregivers with nursing skills. My mom paid the agency over $100,000 over the course of a couple of years. My mom died about a year ago while under the caregiver's care. After the family questioned the caregiver & the agency about what happened the day my mom died, we received unsatisfactory answers. We therefore investigated the agency & found that they were NOT licensed by the California Dept. of Health Svcs. as they were required to be in order to provide nursing services. The agency was shut down a few years ago & CDHS didn't know they had reopened. The family requested I not pay the final $2,250 bill to the agency since it was evident that they were fraudulently working for my mom wiith out the proper qualifications & licensing. Now the agency is suing me in small claims court. Are we legally obligated to pay this company which lied to our family & fraudulently worked for my mom without being properly licensed to provide nursing care?