Federal prosecutors charged 15 individuals throughout a number of states in reference to an alleged Medicare and insurance coverage fraud schemes they allege collectively took in $2 billion, the Justice Division stated on Thursday.
Eight of the defendants, a few of whom had been physicians, had been arrested by federal brokers on Thursday, with many of the arrests happening in California, in line with officers.
The alleged schemes included billing non-public insurers for phony substance abuse remedy, billing Medicare for pointless atherectomy procedures (that are for eradicating plaque from blood vessels) and one other charging Medicare for hospice companies for sufferers who weren’t terminally sick, the Justice Division stated.
Federal brokers climb a fence to enter a suspect’s home throughout a raid associated to well being care fraud within the early morning on Oct. 22, 2026, in Los Angeles.
Wally Skalij/AP Photograph
5 of the suspects had been anticipated to seem in federal court docket in L.A., two had been anticipated to seem in federal court docket in Texas and one other was anticipated to seem in federal court docket in Illinois Thursday afternoon, in line with the Justice Division.
Legal professional info for the suspects wasn’t instantly accessible.
The most important case targeted on two individuals in Los Angeles and one other in Texas who allegedly spent years transferring substance abuse sufferers from across the nation to California, the Justice Division stated.
The suspects allegedly enrolled the sufferers in insurance coverage insurance policies that they weren’t eligible for and obtained the very best reimbursement for substance abuse remedies. They obtained over $1.6 billion, the Justice Division alleged.
Federal brokers arrive to a suspect’s home throughout a raid associated to well being care fraud within the early morning on Oct. 22, 2026, in Los Angeles.
Wally Skalij/AP Photograph
In a separate case, a Los Angeles cardiothoracic surgeon and a chiropractor are accused of falsely diagnosing sufferers with arterial illness and recommending they obtain atherectomies, the Justice Division stated. The suspects on this case billed Medicare for over $135 million for the procedures, the Justice Division alleged.
Three instances handled suspects allegedly billing Medicare a mixed $138 million for fraudulent hospice schemes, the Justice Division stated. The suspects allegedly billed sufferers who weren’t terminally sick, in line with the Justice Division.
