Washington [US], June 28: The US Department of Justice has just criminally prosecuted 193 people, including 76 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, for health care fraud involving an amount of up to 2.75 billion USD.
The two-week operation arrested defendants accused of illegally distributing millions of Adderall stimulant pills, Reuters reported on June 28.
In addition, the operation involved $176 million in fraud related to drug and alcohol abuse treatment, including one defendant allegedly billing the federal Medicaid program for inappropriate treatment, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The raid also targeted programs related to telemedicine, with 36 people accused of profiting $1.1 billion from the Medicare program.
"The Department of Justice will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for personal gain," said Garland.
In one case, federal prosecutors charged seven people associated with the San Francisco, California-based company Done Global with illegally distributing Adderall, a stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder commonly known as ADHD.
A medical employee at the company is accused of prescribing 1.5 million Adderall pills while having little interaction with patients. Authorities have previously indicted the company's founder and its top doctor.
The investigations were led by the Justice Department's criminal fraud unit, with participation from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper