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Federal investigators announced yesterday that 91 individuals have been charged in Medicare fraud schemes totaling approximately $295 million in false billing, the highest amount of false Medicare billings in a single takedown in Medicare Fraud Strike Force history. Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson joined individuals from the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division in announcing the coordinated strike.
The 91 individuals were charged in six cities across the country for health care fraud-related crimes, including violations of the anti-kickback statute, conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, health care fraud, and money laundering. The fraud schemes involved submitting Medicare claims for treatments that were medically unnecessary or never performed as well as providing recruiters with kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information for use in false billing. The schemes focused on services in home health care, mental health services, occupational and physical therapy, DME, and HIV infusion. Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams are working with attorneys from the Fraud Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute the cases.
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