The Department of Justice announced criminal charges against nearly 200 individuals on Thursday for their alleged participation in “various health care fraud schemes,” apress release from the department stated.
The 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action found that the schemes involved roughly $2.75 billion in intended loss and $1.6 billion in actual losses.
‘Health care fraud affects every American.’
Of the 193 individuals facing charges, 76 were doctors, nurse practitioners, and other licensed medical professionals, the DOJ reported. The scheme spanned 32 federal districts, it noted.
The investigation resulted in the seizure of more than $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.
“The charges alleged include over [sic] $900 million fraud scheme committed in connection with amniotic wound grafts; the unlawful distribution of millions of pills of Adderall and other stimulants by five defendants associated with a digital technology company; an over $90 million fraud committed by corporate executives distributing adulterated and misbranded HIV medication; over $146 million in fraudulent addiction treatment schemes; over $1.1 billion in telemedicine and laboratory fraud; and over $450 million in other health care fraud and opioid schemes,” the DOJ reported.
According to the department’s press release, the diverted HIV medication scheme resulted in one patient “passing out and remaining unconscious for 24 hours after taking an anti-psychotic drug thinking it was his prescribed HIV medication.”
Seven individuals associated with Done Global, a telehealth company, were accused of illegally distributing Adderall medication over the internet. A Florida nurse practitioner allegedly subscribed over 1.5 million pills “without interaction with patients.” The company did not respond to a request for comment, the New York Post reported.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, released a statement regarding the charges.
“Health care fraud affects every American,” Argentieri said. “It siphons off hard-earned tax dollars meant to provide care for the vulnerable and disabled. In doing so, it also raises the cost of care for all patients. Even worse, as the prosecutions we announce today underscore, health care fraud can harm patients and fuel addiction. The Criminal Division is committed to rooting out health care fraud, wherever it may be found, no matter who commits it. And we are using more tools than ever before to uncover misconduct and hold wrongdoers to account, whether they are executives in corner offices or doctors who violate their oaths.”
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