The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division expanded its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force into Philadelphia and charged 19 defendants in alleged Medicaid home health aide fraud schemes.
The expansion pairs the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The 19 defendants, including home care company owners and employees, allegedly billed Medicaid for more than $4 million in claims tied to services that were never provided, according to an Aug. 4 Justice Department news release.
In one case, four defendants, two purported aides and two Medicaid recipients, allegedly caused over $440,000 in fraudulent claims, with one aide claiming to work while incarcerated. The Pennsylvania Attorney General also announced a plea agreement involving the final defendant in a separate, previously charged 21-defendant case tied to more than $1.7 million in claims.
The Northeast Strike Force, led by Acting Assistant Chiefs Miriam Glaser Dauermann and Patrick J. Campbell, will work with the FBI, HHS’ Office of Inspector General and the Drug Enforcement Administration in the new Philadelphia office. Nationally, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force model has prosecuted more than 6,200 defendants who billed federal health programs and private insurers over $45 billion.
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