Feds arrest about 100 Medicare fraud suspects in South Florida, nationwide

[mfcorey1]

Scroll through the pictures and notice the amount of money involved in fraud. Wow!

ederal agents Wednesday rounded up about 60 South Florida suspects charged with Medicare fraud as part of a national take down that was both a surgical and symbolic strike against the epidemic crime.

Nationwide, about 110 suspects were arrested in major U.S. cities by FBI and Health and Human Services agents. The charges: bilking more than $450 million from the taxpayer-funded government program for seniors and people with disabilities.

Among those arrested: Armando “Manny” Gonzalez, owner of two mental health businesses called Healthcare Solutions Network in Cutler Bay and the Asheville, N.C. area.

Authorities targeted a variety operators of mental health clinics, home care agencies and physical therapy services, who are charged with filing false claims with Medicare, defrauding the program and paying kickbacks to patient recruiters.

Wednesday’s take down marked the third time that the Obama administration has orchestrated such massive arrests of Medicare fraud defendants. The arrests are designed to show the Justice Department’s continued crackdown in major fraud centers like Miami and to promote public awareness of the widespread problem.

Medicare loses tens of billions of dollars a year because of criminal fraud, along with waste and abuse, experts say.

To tout the latest action, the Justice Department announced a press conference for 1:30 p.m. in Washington, featuring Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. A half hour later, the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami will hold another news conference to focus on the arrests in South Florida.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/02/2779369_feds-arrest-about-100-medicare.html#storylink=addthis#storylink=cpy

[siligut]

1. Good work, keep it up!

Medicare fraud is considered a business plan in Florida, I know, I was able to help get one agency shut down for it. However, the corruption was such that the culprits just moved and changed the name of the service.

[global1]

2. This Needs To Happen More Often And On A Regular Basis And The Penalties Need To Be Stiff.....

They need to get both providers and patients because fraud happens on both sides of this. They need to run this more like a credit card company. The credit card companies don't tolerate fraud and take all kinds of precautions to minimize and prevent it. Just think of the money that would be saved if they can stop the fraud in Medicare.

[Gman]

3. The patient fraud is negligible compared

To the providers.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Turns out LabCorp is being charged with fraud.

It is a nation wide lab, very big.
My dr. office was using it, switched to another lab last month, so I looked up Labcorp,
and lol and behold...

Quest, Lab Corp. Fall After Fraud Whistle-Blower Interview
By Alex Wayne - Mar 23, 2012 3:12 PM CT
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX) and Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings fell after a man who accused the companies of Medicare fraud in lawsuits explained his allegations to a trade publication.
Baker, the former CEO of Unilab Corp., which Quest bought in 2003, alleges that the two companies offer commercial insurers discounts on lab tests in exchange for the health plans recommending that their network doctors send all of their patients, including those covered by Medicare or Medicaid, to Quest or Lab Corp. The labs then charge higher prices to the government programs, Baker’s suit alleges.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-23/quest-lab-corp-fall-after-fraud-whistle-blower-interview-1-.html