The U.S. Justice Department has criminally charged 193 people, including 76 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, with participating in health care fraud schemes worth $2.75 billion, the agency said on Thursday.
The two-week operation ensnared defendants accused of illegally distributing millions of pills of the stimulant Adderall. It also included $176 million in fraudulent schemes involving drug and alcohol abuse treatment, including one defendant accused of billing the federal Medicaid program for treatment that was either inadequate or nonexistent, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
The bust also targeted schemes involving telemedicine, charging 36 defendants accused of collectively submitting over $1.1 billion in false claims to the U.S. Medicare program.
“The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for the sake of profits,” Garland said during a press conference.
The government seized more than $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold and other assets in the law enforcement action that spanned 32 federal districts.