USA Health - fraud

WASHINGTON—The federal Medicare fraud task force brought criminal charges Thursday against doctors, nurses and health care company executives — in all, 111 people in nine cities — in what officials billed as the nation's biggest health care fraud bust.

The defendants are accused of cheating the government out of more than $225 million through false-billing schemes that included fraudulent claims,. kickback op­erations, money laundering and identity theft.

The sweep of the case was so massive that it took more than 700 federal agents from the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct. In addition, 16 search warrants were served across the country in connection with ongoing investigations.

"Our message is clear," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer from the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "We are determined to put Medicare fraudsters out of business."

Daniel Levinson, the Health and Human Services inspector general, added: "We will not tolerate criminals lining their pockets at the expense of Medicare pa­tients and taxpayers."

The task force was launched in March 2007, and since then more than 990 people have been charged in false billing schemes covering more than $2.3 billion, with nearly 750 of them convicted, officials said.

In addition, in 2010 alone the joint federal, state and local task force recovered $4 billion in fines and other restitution payments on behalf of taxpayers that had been lost to corruption.

The accusations leveled Thursday run the gamut. Some defendants allegedly submitted claims to Medicare for treat­ments that were medically unnecessarily or never provided. Some are accused of recruiting patients for hospitals and doc­tors, then pocketing cash kickbacks.

Others allegedly set up schemes in­volving home health care, physical and occupational therapy, nerve conduction tests and prescription medicine.

In Los Angeles, the five defendants are accused of scheming to defraud Medicare of more than $28 million in false claims for medical equipment and home health care. In Chicago, 11 defendants were connected to businesses that allegedly billed Medi­care more than $6 million for home health, diagnostic testing and prescription drugs.

Other arrests occurred in Detroit; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Houston; Dallas; Miami; Tampa, Fla.; and Baton Rouge, La.

Breuer said the task force has become more sophisticated, developing many of the cases quickly, some in as little as two months. "We're taking real data in real time and bringing the cases," he said.