Justice Department charges 455 in health care fraud crackdown involving $6.5 billion
12 reported
The Justice Department announced criminal charges against 455 people as part of a two-week health care fraud crackdown involving more than $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to insurers. Among those charged is a nurse practitioner in Texas accused of billing Medicaid for unnecessary wound-care procedures and using proceeds for jewelry and luxury cars, a mental health company owner accused of exploiting the homeless by billing for unneeded crisis stabilization services, and a hospice owner alleged to have paid kickbacks to a funeral home employee for information about Medicare beneficiaries. A heart doctor, Jason Finkelstein, 53, faces charges in Florida of health care fraud and conspiracy in what prosecutors describe as a yearslong scheme that preyed on athletes' fears of sudden cardiac arrest. The alleged fraud ran between 2019 and the end of last year, and involved Finkelstein and a pair of unidentified co-conspirators at a Florida-based cardiovascular testing and treatment practice he owned and operated. Prosecutors say Finkelstein submitted phony diagnoses to insurers, used sonographers lacking credentials, and certified test results as normal without reviewing them, including in one case where a teenage patient later died on a basketball court. The Trump administration has emphasized fraud enforcement over the last year, including through the appointment of Colin McDonald as assistant attorney general to oversee health care fraud prosecutions.
What’s reported
The Justice Department announced criminal charges against 455 people in a two-week health care fraud crackdown.
The crackdown involves more than $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to insurers.
Among those charged is a nurse practitioner in Texas accused of billing Medicaid for unnecessary wound-care procedures and using proceeds for jewelry and luxury cars.
A mental health company owner is accused of exploiting the homeless by billing for unneeded crisis stabilization services.
A hospice owner is alleged to have paid kickbacks to a funeral home employee for information about Medicare beneficiaries.
Jason Finkelstein, 53, faces charges in Florida of health care fraud and conspiracy in an $89 million scheme involving unnecessary cardiovascular screening tests for college student-athletes.
The alleged fraud ran between 2019 and the end of last year.
Finkelstein and a pair of unidentified co-conspirators operated a Florida-based cardiovascular testing and treatment practice.
Prosecutors say Finkelstein submitted phony diagnoses, used sonographers lacking credentials, and certified test results as normal without reviewing them.
In one instance in 2024, Finkelstein signed off after roughly 11 seconds on approximately 63 test result images of one patient; the test results revealed a significantly enlarged heart and the teenage patient later died on the basketball court.
Colin McDonald was appointed assistant attorney general to help oversee health care fraud prosecutions.
Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, called the operation "a predatory scheme dressed up in medical clothing."
Key figures
Jason Finkelstein, 53, heart doctor charged in Florida with health care fraud and conspiracy
Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general overseeing health care fraud prosecutions
Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Sources: statnews.com
