14 July, 2017
The U.S. Justice Department announced charges Thursday for more than 400 people in health care fraud, opioid scams totaling $1.3 billion.
Nationally, the defendants announced today are charged with various health care fraud-related crimes, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, violations of the anti-kickback statutes and money laundering, as well as crimes involving the illegal prescribing and distribution of opioids and other risky narcotics.
The fraud uncovered in IN include transportation billing for trips that never happened, money laundering, and illegal opioid prescribing.
"Health care fraud is a problem nationwide and Nebraska is not immune to it".
In Thursday morning's press conference, Kuhn said 80 percent of heroin and opioid addicts started by abusing prescription painkillers, and that the takedown is only the beginning in the mission to stop medical professionals from abusing the healthcare system.
The charges also involve individuals contributing to the opioid epidemic.
Officials say one of the cases is against Physicians Primary Care, PLLC, which is located in Jeffersonville. Dickey was charged with Medicaid fraud (false claim). "We work with the state agencies better in finding the fraud".
All three have been charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud. The case documents claim Patterson was falsely and fraudulently willing Anthem, Inc., for autism services that were never performed while operating the JM Autism Foundation Trust.
Criminal complaint charges were also filed against Brooklyn resident Xiaoliang Zhang of Elmhurst United Medical, P.C. for submitting $27 million worth of Medicare and Medicaid claims for unnecessary - or fake - physical therapy services.
One of the largest losses to the Indiana Medicaid program was discovered during MFCU's investigation of two employees of Med 1st in Evansville, Indiana, where Chiropractor Mitchel Stukey and Karen Poeling are accused of distributing and prescribing controlled substances using signed blank prescription pads, then attempting to launder the money obtained from this illegal activity.
More than 120 defendants were charged for prescribing and distributing opioids and other risky narcotics.
