The US government has just taken down the largest health care fraud operation in history.
The DOJ says it has identified 324 defendants in an alleged $14.6 billion fraud scheme comprising of several different scam tactics targeting Americans.
-->In one scheme that targeted vulnerable elderly patients – some of whom were in hospices – defendants are accused of applying medically unnecessary amniotic allografts to the patients’ wounds, and then receiving millions of dollars worth of illegal kickbacks from a fraudulent billing scheme.
In another alleged fraud, 74 defendants, including 44 licensed medical professionals, are accused of illegally peddling 15 million pills of prescription opioids and other controlled substances.
Another charge was filed in the Northern District of Illinois against five defendants, including two owners and executives at Pakistani marketing companies, whose alleged fraud involved a $703 million Medicare scam. The DOJ says victims of the scheme had their identification numbers and other confidential health information stolen through theft and deceptive marketing.
As part of the investigation, the DOJ seized $245 million worth of cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency and other assets, “demonstrating the significant return on investment that results from health care fraud enforcement efforts.”
Says Robert Murphy of the DEA,
“Health care fraud isn’t just theft — it’s trafficking in trust. Today’s announcement shows that when doctors become drug dealers and treatment centers become profit-driven fraud rings, DEA will act… We’re targeting the entire ecosystem of fraud — from pill mills in Texas to kickback clinics exploiting Native communities. If you abuse your medical license to push poison or pad your pockets, we will hold you accountable.”
