Thread: ORGANIZED CRIME'S INVOLVMENT IN GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE

ORGANIZED CRIME'S INVOLVMENT IN GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE

By Jim Kouri, CPP
November 6, 2010
NewsWithViews.com

During the intense debate regarding passage of ObamaCare by Democrat lawmakers, very little if any mention was made of the potential for organized crime to infiltrate the medical services industry and those companies involved with hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other enterprises ripe for crime groups to milk.

Even when the topic of health care fraud is addressed, most examples given are fraud and abuse cases perpetrated by individual health care workers, patients or government employees. Yet, for a number of years law enforcement officials experienced an upsurge in medical fraud cases involving crime syndicates.

For example, 73 suspects, including a number of alleged members and associates of an Armenian-American organized crime enterprise, were charged in indictments Wednesday in five judicial districts with various health care fraud-related crimes involving more than $163 million in fraudulent billing, according to a report obtained by the Organized Crime Committee of the National Association of Chiefs of Police.

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

Forty-four defendants were charged in two indictments unsealed today in the Southern District of New York with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit the following acts: health care fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, fraud in connection with identity theft, credit card fraud and immigration fraud. In addition, seven defendants were charged in the District of New Mexico with health care fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, forfeiture and aggravated identity theft.

The suspected gang members and associates 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 federal 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€

How many billions have the Cubans in Miami steal in Medicaid and Medicare fraud? Not long ago there were 35 people wanted by the U.S. Marshal Service for those scams and with the possible exception of 3 or 4 the rest were Cuban. I tried to find the link to that as I have used it in the but was unsuccessful. They have apprehended some of them including one who went back to Cuba. In South Florida you read about medicaid and medicare fraud arrests on a monthly or bimonthly basis. Here is a link to Florida Medicare Fraud which lists and links you to those caught, convicted or wanted for it. See for yourself who the scammer here are: http://www.stopmedicarefraud.gov/innews/florida.html

Mentioning Organized Crime and Government=Redundant