Seventy-eight people have been charged with the alleged participation in a healthcare fraud and opioid abuse scheme worth more than $2.5 billion.
Those involved allegedly defrauded programs that cared for the elderly and disabled, according to a June 28 news release from the Justice Department.
The scheme involved two instances of telemedicine fraud in Florida and Washington that resulted in $2 billion in false claims. Eleven people were charged.
There was also an instance of pharmaceutical fraud in which 10 people were charged in connection with the submission of more than $370 million in fraudulent claims submitted in connection with prescription drugs. In a related case, one man in the Southern District of Florida was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the scheme, according to the Justice Department.
The scheme also included more than $150 million in false billings submitted in connection with the illegal distribution of opioids, clinical laboratory testing fraud and other types of healthcare fraud, according to the release. Charges were brought against 24 physicians and other licensed medical professionals. Other charges include cases in which healthcare companies, physicians, and other providers paid cash kickbacks to patient recruiters and beneficiaries to receive patient information.