The Justice Department charged 324 defendants across the U.S. in a major healthcare fraud case, with $14.6 billion in falsified claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. Among the defendants were 96 healthcare professionals, including doctors and pharmacists. Authorities seized over $245 million in assets but noted that these efforts are dwarfed by ongoing yearly losses from fraud. South Florida remains a key area for these fraudulent activities, highlighting challenges in timely payments by Medicare and Medicaid that facilitate ongoing scams.
Authorities said the defendants submitted more than $14.6 billion in falsified bills to the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs as well as to private insurers, describing the magnitude of fraud as the largest in U.S. history - more than double the prior record of $6 billion.
Agents with the FBI and Health and Human Services seized more than $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency and other assets nationwide, authorities said during a news conference in Washington on Monday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi described the array of defendants as 'criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers.'
Experts note that the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs for the elderly and indigent continue to lose untold sums to fraud, waste and abuse because they routinely pay bills quickly.
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