The Justice Department has announced criminal charges against 193 individuals, including 76 doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, for their alleged involvement in health care fraud schemes worth a staggering $2.75 billion. This two-week operation, led by the Justice Department’s criminal fraud unit in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, FBI, and Drug Enforcement Administration, aimed to crack down on criminals who defraud Americans, exploit taxpayer-funded programs, and jeopardize public safety for personal gains.
Among the charges, the operation targeted defendants accused of illegally distributing millions of pills of the stimulant Adderall, commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In one case, seven individuals associated with the San Francisco-based telehealth startup Done Global were charged with unlawfully distributing Adderall. Notably, a nurse practitioner at the company was accused of prescribing a staggering 1.5 million pills of Adderall with minimal patient interaction. The founder and top doctor of Done Global had already been charged earlier this month.
Furthermore, the operation uncovered fraudulent schemes amounting to $176 million in the drug and alcohol abuse treatment sector. One defendant was accused of billing the federal Medicaid program for treatment that was either inadequate or non-existent. Additionally, 36 defendants were charged with collectively submitting over $1.1 billion in false claims to the Medicare program through telemedicine schemes.
During a press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized the Justice Department’s commitment to bringing these criminals to justice and ensuring the protection of American citizens. The law enforcement action resulted in the seizure of more than $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets across 32 federal districts.
The investigations, which relied heavily on data analytics to identify fraudulent activities that endangered patients or incurred substantial costs to the government, shed light on potential links between fraud schemes and the well-publicized shortages of Adderall in recent years. However, no immediate comment was received from Done Global regarding the charges.
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I recently came across a case in my local news that relates to the post. In my city, there was a major crackdown on a group of doctors and pharmacists who were involved in a massive prescription drug fraud scheme. The scheme involved overprescribing opioids and other controlled substances to patients who did not actually need them.
The investigation revealed that these medical professionals were colluding with each other and with drug dealers to profit from the illegal distribution of prescription drugs. They would write fraudulent prescriptions and receive kickbacks