Justice Department unveils 'largest takedown ever' to combat Medicare fraud
Source: Reuters
Politics | Wed Jun 22, 2016 11:44am EDT
Justice Department unveils 'largest takedown ever' to combat Medicare fraud
WASHINGTON | BY SARAH N. LYNCH
The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials have hit a milestone in 2016 by completing the "largest takedown ever" against defendants allegedly trying to defraud Medicare and other federal insurance programs.
The 2016 takedown involves 301 defendants and a loss amount of $900 million, the department said. That exceeds a record last year, when 243 defendants faced charges in a combined $712 million in losses.
Among the defendants charged in the takedown include two owners of a group of outpatient clinics and a patient recruiter who stand accused of filing $36 million in fraudulent claims for physical therapy and other services that were not medically necessary.
To find patients, the Justice Department alleges the clinic operators and the recruiter targeted poor drug addicts and offered them narcotics so they could bill them for services that were never provided.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-medicare-fraud-idUSKCN0Z81C8