Inside Operation Gold Rush: How cross-border criminal networks utilize the US healthcare system of $14.6 billion
State and federal prosecutors filed more than 320 people and revealed nearly $15 billion in false claims Monday, describing it as a takedown of the largest healthcare fraud scheme in Justice Department history.
Law enforcement has seized more than $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency and other assets as prosecutors warned of pushing for growth through cross-border criminal networks to leverage the US healthcare system. As part of a drastic crackdown, authorities have identified perpetrators based in Russia, Eastern Europe, Pakistan and other countries.
“These criminals didn’t just steal someone else’s money. They stole it from you,” Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s criminal affairs department, told reporters Monday. “All fraudulent claims, all false claims, all kickback schemes represent money taken directly from the pockets of American taxpayers who fund these important programs through hard work and sacrifice.”
The $14.6 billion suspected fraud is more than twice the previous record in the Department of Justice’s crackdown on annual health fraud. This has claimed or sealed nearly 190 federal cases and more than 90 state lawsuits since June 9th. Nearly 100 licensed medical professionals, including 25 doctors, were charged, and the government reported an actual loss of $2.9 billion.
Among the cases is a $10 billion urinary catheter scheme, which authorities say, highlighting the increasingly sophisticated ways that multinational criminal organizations use. Authorities say the group behind the scheme will use foreign straw owners to secretly purchase dozens of medical supplies and file fake Medicare claims using stolen identity and confidential health data.
Nineteen defendants have been charged as part of their investigation. Authorities called Operation Gold Rush and include four people arrested in Estonia and seven people arrested at the border between the US airport and Mexico, prosecutors said. The scheme included stolen identities and personal information of one million Americans, according to the Department of Justice.
“It’s not done by some small time operators,” the doctor said. Mehmet Ozleads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “These are organized syndicates that we’re designing to hurt America.”