The Biden administration cracked a healthcare scheme that aimed to bilk Medicare out of $1.2 billion.
The Department of Justice said Wednesday it charged 36 defendants in connection with a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for telemedicine, genetic and cardiovascular testing and equipment.
“This enforcement action demonstrates that the department will do everything in its power to protect the healthcare systems our communities rely on from people looking to defraud them for their own personal gain,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.
The coordinated federal investigations involving 13 federal districts found laboratory owners and operators paid illegal kickbacks for patient referrals to medical professionals working with fraudulent telemedicine and digital technology companies. Telemedicine schemes accounted for more than $1 billion of the intended losses. Although the perpetrators intended to net roughly $1.2 billion, they ultimately only received about $440 million from Medicare for phony services.
The DOJ said some of the defendants allegedly controlled a telemarketing network based in the U.S. and overseas, which lured thousands of elderly and disabled patients into the scheme.
The entire healthcare industry has come under increasing scrutiny from the Biden administration for fraud, wage and labor violations and antitrust concerns.
