(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On June 27, the U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges related to health care fraud that may have caused $2.75 billion in losses had been filed against 193 people.
Those charged include 76 doctors and other medical professionals from 32 different federal districts across the country.
According to the Department of Justice, one of the fraud schemes was a $900 million scheme where the suspects allegedly filed false Medicare claims about amniotic wound grafts applied to terminally ill elderly patients. According to prosecutors, the two owners of a wound care company received over $330 million from the scheme.
Another scheme involved a Florida nurse practitioner who allegedly prescribed Adderall and other medications to patients without contacting the patients through a servicer’s auto-refill policy. Therefore, patients were able to continue filling the prescriptions “without any further audio or visual interaction with a medical professional,” resulting in those suffering from drug addiction being able to fill the prescriptions.
One scheme was a wire fraud conspiracy that involved selling HIV drugs that contained a different drug entirely, defrauding people of close to $90 million and causing one patient to pass out, according to the Department of Justice. Other schemes include one worth $146 million for false claims for addiction services, and another involved a telemedicine scheme, worth $1.1 billion, where 36 people allegedly filed false Medicare claims.
According to a statement from the government, over $200 million in cash, gold, luxury cars, and other assets were seized by authorities in the 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that those who “profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances” will be held accountable.
In a statement, Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said that these types of health care schemes steal “from the American families who rely on them,” promising that those who commit the fraud will be held accountable.
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