Federal prosecutors have charged 15 people, including six medical professionals, in health care fraud schemes that allegedly produced about $2 billion in false claims, among them what the Justice Department called the largest substance abuse treatment fraud it has ever prosecuted.
The charges, announced Oct. 22, involve sham addiction treatment, unnecessary artery procedures that allegedly injured patients and hospice care billed for people who were not terminally ill. Eight defendants were arrested that day and were expected to appear in federal courts in Los Angeles, Texas and Illinois.
“Our message is simple: if you steal health care dollars from the American taxpayer or abuse your position to harm patients, we are coming for you — and the data will lead us to you,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The largest case accuses David Young, 71, and his son, Nathan Young, 39, both of Los Angeles, of controlling dozens of purported treatment companies that billed private insurers more than $1.6 billion. Honey Phipps, 42, and Cody Phipps, 36, both of Greenville, Texas, are accused of working as “body brokers” who recruited patients for the Youngs.
According to the indictment, the defendants targeted people who were homeless or poor and those attending addiction support groups. They allegedly lured patients to Southern California with free flights, cash, housing, cars and drugs, and sought out people with...
By Doris Obinna The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has warned against reports declaring Nigeria Ebola-free, insisting that although the country currently has no confirmed...