Thread: 73 charged nationwide in $163 MILLION Medicare fraud

Dozens in L.A. arrested in federal Medicare fraud crackdown

October 13, 2010 | 8:19 am

Hundreds of federal agents fanned out Wednesday morning across Southern California to serve warrants in a coast-to-coast crackdown on healthcare fraud.

An estimated three dozen people have been served with arrest and search warrants locally, but federal officials said the crackdown extends across the country. They declined to immediately offer specifics about which locations were being targeted.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said that more than 400 agents participated in what she described as "fraud of the Medicare system through identity theft."

Most of the arrests -- but not most of the indictments -- in the operation are taking place in Los Angeles, Eimiller said.

Officials plan to provide details at a news conference at the federal building in Westwood. Other federal jurisdictions also are expected to release details of indictments related to the operation.

-- Andrew Blankstein

Email: newstips@latimes.com
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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... kdown.html

Dozens charged nationwide in $100M Medicare scam

Last Update: 1:26 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors in New York City say dozens of people are charged in a $100 million Medicare fraud scam with overseas connections. Authorities call it the largest Medicare fraud ever by a single criminal enterprise.

Authorities said Wednesday that 44 people are charged in New York City, and most of them are in custody. Others were arrested in Los Angeles. Authorities said some suspects have links to an Armenian organized crime group and sent money abroad.

The suspects allegedly stole the identities of both doctors and patients, and set up phantom clinics and bank accounts. Authorities say they used the names to submit about $100 million in bills, and got back more than $35 million from Medicare.

The scheme involved over 100 fake health care providers in about 25 states.
http://www.krgv.com/news/national/story ... 81oGw.cspx

Whoah!!! Now this is bold. Setting up phantom clinics....very bold. This shows that organized crime has probably been ripping off our Medicare system for ages. Glad they are caught. Now maybe some elderly people can actually get some meds.

Ripping the System off has been going on for some time.

And that is why when I call washington I tell them ,they need to quit extending their reach and take care of matters for which we have laws for already. They are spread so thin ,they do not have the resources to enforce and secure our public systems.

Just as they say they DO NOT have the resources to secure our borders.

Even doctors have been caught doing this same thing in the Medicare system.



Amazing how everyone sure LOVES OUR MONEY!

CMS' out-of-date billing system has facilitated more than $60 billion in Medicare fraud annually, according to the Herald.



Read more: http://www.californiahealthline.org/art ... z12GulHDIm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_fraud

In July 2010, the Medicare Fraud Strike Task Force announced its largest fraud discovery ever when charging 94 people nationwide for allegedly submitting a total of $251 million in fraudulent Medicare claims. The 94 people charged included doctors, medical assistants, and health care firm owners, and 36 of them have been found and arrested. [11][12] Charges were filed in Baton Rouge (31 defendants charged), Miami (24 charged) Brooklyn, (21 charged), Detroit (11 charged) and Houston (four charged). [13]By value, nearly half of the false claims were made in Miami-Dade County, Florida. [14] The Medicare claims covered HIV treatment, medical equipment, physical therapy and other unnecessary services or items, or those not provided.[15]

This is supposedly the largest bust of all and it was this year
251 MILLION DOLLARS

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 13, 2010

73 Members and Associates of Organized Crime Enterprise, Others Indicted for Health Care Fraud Crimes Involving More Than $163 Million

Indictments in Five States – California, Georgia, New Mexico, New York and Ohio

WASHINGTON – Seventy-three defendants, including a number of alleged members and associates of an Armenian-American organized crime enterprise, were charged in indictments unsealed today in five judicial districts with various health care fraud-related crimes involving more than $163 million in fraudulent billing, announced Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler, FBI Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division Kevin Perkins and Health and Human Services Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson.

In this national, multi-agency investigation, 52 were arrested today by FBI agents in the largest Medicare fraud scheme ever perpetrated by a single criminal enterprise and charged by the Department of Justice.

The defendants are charged with engaging in numerous fraud activities, including highly-organized, multi-million dollar schemes to defraud Medicare and insurance companies by submitting fraudulent bills for medically unnecessary treatments or treatments that were never performed. According to the indictments, the defendants allegedly stole the identities of doctors and thousands of Medicare beneficiaries and operated at least 118 different phony clinics in 25 states for the purposes of submitting Medicare reimbursements.

“The emergence of international organized crime in domestic health care fraud schemes signals a dangerous expansion that poses a serious threat to consumers as these syndicates are willing to exploit almost any program, business or individual to earn an illegal profit,â€

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Largest U.S. Medicare Fraud settlement $1.7 BILLION

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-210046-medicare.html+fraud

They have failed to mention all of the ones committed in Miami especially in the City of Hialeah. At one point the U.S. Marshall Service was looking for around 35 of them. Most of them were Cuban and many returned to Cuba with the money.

I am sure Cuba needed it more then we did .........

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Feds Arrest 44 in 'Largest-Ever' Medicare Fraud Bust

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-215176.html