(OurNationNews.com) The United States Department of Justice has filed a new wave of charges in a $2.7 billion health care fraud scheme. The investigation has led to criminal charges against 193 people, which includes 76 medical professionals. The DOJ said the losses could have been over $2.7 billion, but instead has cost the government $1.6 billion.
During the investigation, $200 million in cash was seized along with expensive cars, gold, and other valuables. Attorney General Merrick Garland made a statement that drew an equivalence between drug cartels and medical professionals. He said anyone who illegally distributes controlled substances will be charged and held responsible in the court of law.
Over the course of 16 months, two defendants received a total of $600 million for amniotic wound grafts that were completely unnecessary. According to the DOJ, a wound graft for one patient costs about $1 million. In total, there were four defendants that made claims totaling $900 million for the amniotic wound grafts.
Another defendant prescribed 1.5 million Adderall as a Florida nurse practitioner without ever interacting with the patients. According to the government statement, drug addicts were able to easily obtain continued refills after just an initial meeting with a medical professional. Some patients reportedly continued to receive prescription refills months after their overdose deaths.
Earlier in June, the founding CEO of telehealth company Done Global Inc. was arrested and charged. The company allegedly prescribed 40 million pills that were unnecessary. According to the court documents, the company did not conduct adequate assessments of the patients to determine they had ADHD before prescribing the medication.
The DOJ found that prescription bottles were sent out with different pills than the label indicated. One patient was passed out for 24 hours after taking anti-psychotic medication that was supposed to be HIV medication.
The DOJ made it clear that this fraudulent scheme is harming the health of Americans while taking money from taxpayers.
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