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Medical Fraud Arrests

/ 01.Mar, 2012

The headlines leave no doubt that the government is taking an aggressive stand on health care fraud.  This week, the papers reported two multi-million dollar health care fraud schemes which have resulted in the arrest of a number of doctors and lawyers.  Yesterday it was announced that 36 people were arrested in $250 million health care fraud scheme in Brighton Beach, including ten doctors, three lawyers, and ringleaders known as “Russian Mike” and “Fat Mike.”  Tuesday, Dr. Jacques Roy, a Dallas area doctor, and five others, were arrested and charged in a $375 million health care fraud scheme.

After noting that that the Department of Justice had recovered over $4 billion in health care fraud monies last year, Attorney General Eric Holder recently spoke on the scope of health care fraud investigations:

Over the same period, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices opened more than 1,100 new criminal health-care fraud investigations and had more than 1,800 health-care fraud criminal investigations pending. We reached an “all-time high” in the number of health-care fraud defendants charged – more than 1,400 in nearly 500 cases. And we secured more than 700 convictions. And I am particularly proud to note that FBI activity resulted in the dismantling of nearly 70 criminal enterprises engaged in health-care fraud, and the operational disruption of more than 230 criminal fraud organizations.

Josh J.T. Byrne, Esquire

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