California Medicare Fraud
The US Department of Justice has put an end to an estimated $257,000,000 Medicare fraud. The taxpayer graft was allegedly completed by doctors and other medical professionals, mainly on the west coast of the US. Twenty six medical personnel were charged criminally. Thirty four individuals in total were charged in the Medicare fraud case. It is unclear if a civil qui tam (whistleblower) lawsuit accompanies the criminal allegations.
If you know of ongoing Medicare fraud by healthcare providers, call our whistle-blower attorneys now for a free case consultation at 1-844-253-8919.
Submitting False Claims to Medicare
In the California Medicare Fraud case, it is alleged that some of these physicians went so far as to create fake patient names and then ‘provide care’ and write prescriptions to their non-existent patients. The government claims it has accumulated ample evidence supporting its contention that Medicare was billed for worthless services, or services that were not provided. All this was done to submit false claims to bilk Medicare out of money.
The charges announced today aggressively target schemes billing Medicare and Medicaid for services, testing and prescriptions that were not medically necessary or not actually provided to beneficiaries. “Today’s action shows that our ability to detect and prosecute health care fraud grows more sophisticated with each passing day,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice is using every tool at our disposal to target the medical professionals and others who place their personal greed above the public good.” US DOJ
Fake Bills Cost Taxpayers Millions
Fraud hurts everyone. Whether the fraud is in false nursing home care, non-existant medical devices or, in this case, phony healthcare services, Medicare fraud costs every American money. The US Department of Justice does what it can to stymie false Medicare claims, but this is a Herculean effort. Medicare is seen as a golden goose to fraudsters across the U.S. and the government is oftentimes powerless to stop itself from being victimized.
Qui Tam Whistleblower Lawsuit Process
The legislature has provided for a civil action to expose Medicare fraud in California, and nationwide. This is referred to as a whistleblower lawsuit or a qui tam action.
Whistleblower lawsuits are brought by private citizens with the assistance of a Medicare fraud whistleblower attorney. The fraud is researched and critical evidence is gathered. From there, the attorney and the whistleblower bring the case to the government, typically to a US Attorney.
Qui Tam Lawsuits Relating to Medicare Fraud Can Result in Large Awards for the Whistleblower
In order to give financial incentive to private citizens, the government provides whistleblowers a percentage of the recovery when they assist to uncover Medicare fraud. Qui Tam is latin, and an abbreviated version of “he who brings an action for the king as well as for himself.”
In other words, if you are aware of financial overbilling or fraudulent claims being made to Medicare, you can recover approximately 25-30% of the uncovered fraud recovery. In cases involving national nursing home chains or large medical providers, this often means millions of dollars.
Call Our Qui Tam Lawyers Today
Our attorneys are here to help you along the process of a qui tam lawsuit. We have experience with Medicare whistleblower claims and we can help maximize your recovery as a Medicare fraud whistle-blower.
Contact our Medicare whistleblower fraud attorneys today for a free case consultation at 1-844-253-8919.
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