WASHINGTON—Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that a nationwide takedown by Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in eight cities has resulted in charges against 89 individuals, including doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $223 million in false billing.
Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius were joined in the announcement by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, FBI Assistant Director Ron Hosko, Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and Deputy Administrator and Director of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Program Integrity Peter Budetti.
This coordinated takedown was the sixth national Medicare fraud takedown in strike force history. In total, almost 600 individuals have been charged in connection with schemes involving almost $2 billion in fraudulent billings in these national takedown operations alone. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.
Since their inception in March 2007, strike force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, CMS, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
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