Midwest Health Care Fraud Law Enforcement Action Results In Charges Against 53 Individuals Alleging

Midwest Health Care Fraud Law Enforcement Action Results In Charges Against 53 Individuals Alleging $250 Million In Loss


WASHINGTON – Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced today a health care fraud law enforcement action in Detroit, Chicago and Minnesota. Charges were filed against 20 individuals in the Eastern District of Michigan for their alleged involvement in Medicare fraud schemes resulting in $144.8 million in illegitimate billings. In the Northern District of Illinois, charges were filed against 12 individuals for their alleged involvement in Medicare fraud schemes resulting in over $103 million in illegitimate billings. Of those charged in the two federal districts, seven were doctors or licensed medical professionals. In addition, in the state of Minnesota, 21 defendants, including two licensed medical professionals, have been charged with defrauding Medicaid for almost $3 million. Minnesota’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigated these cases.

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF) partners, a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and U.S. Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).

The charges announced today aggressively target schemes billing Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies for medically unnecessary procedures, medical procedures that were never provided and prescription medications that often were never purchased and/or distributed to beneficiaries.

“Health care fraud robs taxpaying Americans and corrupts the relationship between doctors and patients,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s actions in the Midwest are further proof of the Department’s steadfast commitment to investigating and prosecuting those who put their personal greed above the public good.”

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/midwest-health-care-fraud-law-enforcement-action-results-charges-against-53-individuals