Feds target fraudsters in Medicare scam
Theft schemes preyed on coronavirus fears
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced criminal charges Wednesday against more than a dozen people from Florida to California in a series of Medicare scams that exploited coronavirus fears to bill tens of millions of dollars in bogus claims.
A common hook involved a pandemic variant of identity theft: Fraudsters allegedly offered COVID-19 tests to get the Medicare numbers of unsuspecting patients, then used that information to bill for lucrative but unneeded genetic tests that can cost thousands of dollars.
“These schemes, we constantly see them evolve to another level,” said Chris Schrank, assistant inspector general for investigations with the Department of Health and Human Services. “At a time when most American pulled together … a small percentage of individuals have decided to steal from programs valuable to those who are most in need.”
The law enforcement actions involved the Justice Department’s criminal division, the FBI, seven U.S. attorney’s offices in six states, as well as the HHS inspector general’s office and other agencies. Bogus billings exceeded $140 million before the schemes were blocked. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently announced the establishment of a task force to pursue pandemic-related fraud across all government programs.
Among those charged:
■ Michael Stein and Leonel Palatnik of Palm Beach County, Florida, who were charged in connection with a $73 million conspiracy to defraud the government and pay and receive kickbacks.
■ Dr. Alexander Baldonado of Queens, New York, who authorities alleged got access to Medicare recipients at an event that advertised virus testing. Baldonado is accused of using the patients’ Medicare information to order unneeded genetic tests for cancer. The Justice Department said about $2 million was billed to Medicare as a result.
■ Petros Hannesyan of Burbank, California, owner of a Los Angeles home health agency. He is accused of stealing more than $200,000 from government programs by spending provider relief payments and disaster loans for his own uses.
It was unclear whether the people charged had attorneys who could comment on their behalf.