18 Defendants Charged with COVID-19 Health Care Fraud, Puerto Rico 2024

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Defendants Charged with COVID-19 Health Care Fraud

In a major crackdown, the Justice Department announced today that 18 defendants in nine federal districts across the United States have been charged with participating in various fraud schemes involving health care services that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic.

The alleged schemes resulted in over $490 million in COVID-19 related false billings to federal programs and theft from federally funded pandemic programs.

According to the indictment, the defendants engaged in various types of COVID-19 health care fraud, including defrauding the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program. The Uninsured Program was designed to provide financial support to health care providers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by reimbursing them for services provided to uninsured individuals.

In a significant case, a lab owner in the Central District of California was charged with allegedly submitting over $358 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, HRSA, and a private insurance company for laboratory testing. The indictment alleges that the defendant’s lab performed COVID-19 screening testing for nursing homes and other facilities with vulnerable elderly populations, as well as primary and secondary schools.

The Justice Department’s enforcement action also involved the seizure of over $16 million in cash and other fraud proceeds.

“The Justice Department will not tolerate those who exploited the pandemic for personal gain and stole taxpayer dollars,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This unprecedented enforcement action against defendants across the country makes clear that the Department is using every available resource to combat and prevent COVID-19 related fraud and safeguard the integrity of taxpayer-funded programs.”

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stated, “Today’s announcement marks the largest-ever coordinated law enforcement action in the United States targeting health care fraud schemes that exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. The Criminal Division’s Health Care Fraud Unit and our partners are committed to rooting out pandemic-related fraud and holding accountable anyone seeking to profit from a public health emergency.”