HHS, FBI, CMS join together for national Medicare fraud takedown

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force brought charges against 243 individuals across 17 districts, including 46 health care providers, nurses and others, for their supposed involvement in Medicare fraud schemes, which resulted in nearly $712 million in false billings, according to a press release from the HHS. “This action represents the largest criminal health care fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice, and it adds to an already remarkable record of enforcement. The defendants charged include doctors, patient recruiters, home health care providers, pharmacy owners and others. They billed for equipment that wasn’t provided, for care that wasn’t needed, and for services that weren’t rendered. In the days ahead, the department of justice will continue our focus on preventing wrongdoing and prosecuting those whose criminal activity drives up medical costs and jeopardizes a system that our citizens trust with their lives. We are prepared — and I am personally determined — to continue working with our federal, state, and local partners to bring about the vital progress that all Americans deserve,” Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in the release.