Feds Charge 15 in $2B Healthcare Fraud Scheme
Justice Department unveils massive healthcare fraud case involving $2 billion in illegal claims.
2 min read
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 15 individuals in a sweeping healthcare fraud scheme involving over $2 billion in fraudulent claims. The case spans multiple states and includes allegations of sham substance abuse treatment, unnecessary medical procedures, and bogus hospice care. The investigation revealed a complex network of fraudulent activities that exploited vulnerable patients and siphoned public funds.
Substance Abuse Fraud Scheme
Among the defendants are four individuals accused of orchestrating a years-long scheme to defraud private insurers of over $1.6 billion. The scheme targeted homeless and poor individuals, luring them to Southern California with promises of free flights, money, apartments, and even illegal drugs. Prosecutors allege that the defendants manipulated insurance coverage to maximize reimbursements while failing to provide the promised treatment.
Some patients with high-reimbursing insurance policies received luxurious accommodations and dinners, while others were housed in unsanitary, overcrowded conditions described as ‘trap houses.’ The defendants are accused of drugging patients to prevent them from leaving their facilities, ensuring continued billing for services never rendered.
Arterial Procedure Fraud
Another defendant, 78-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon Harold Tabaie, and his business partner, 61-year-old chiropractor Hany Malek, are accused of billing Medicare $135 million for medically unnecessary arterial procedures. Malek allegedly recommended unnecessary atherectomies, while Tabaie performed the procedures without medical necessity. To conceal the fraud, they billed Medicare under the names of other providers who did not perform the surgeries.
Hospice and Medi-Cal Fraud
Prosecutors also announced charges in three hospice schemes that allegedly billed Medicare over $138 million for patients who were not terminally ill. A separate defendant was indicted in a nearly $270 million scheme to defraud Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, through bogus pharmacy claims.
“Our message is simple,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald. “If you steal from the American taxpayer, if you exploit vulnerable Americans, if you treat healthcare patients as dollar bills, the Department of Justice is coming for you.”
Source: Daily Wire
