Feds take down Medicare scams that preyed on virus fears

The Justice Department is announcing charges against more than a dozen people from Florida to California in a series of Medicare scams that exploited coronavirus fears to bill tens of millions of dollars in bogus claims

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department announced charges Wednesday against more than a dozen people from Florida to California in a series of Medicare scams that exploited coronavirus fears to bill tens of millions of dollars in bogus claims. A common hook involved a pandemic variant of identity theft: Fraudsters allegedly offered COVID-19 tests to get the Medicare numbers of unsuspecting patients, and then used that information to bill for lucrative but unneeded genetic tests that can cost thousands of dollars. “These schemes, we constantly see them evolve to another level,” said Chris Schrank, assistant inspector general for investigations with the Department of Health and Human Services. “At a time when most American pulled together ... a small percentage of individuals have decided to steal from programs valuable to those who are most in need.” The law enforcement actions involved the Justice Department's criminal division, the FBI, U.S. attorney's offices in seven states, as well as the HHS inspector general's office and other agencies. Bogus billings exceeded $140 million before the schemes were blocked. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently announced the establishment of a special task force to pursue pandemic-related fraud across all government programs, not just health care.