WASHINGTON, April 20 – U.S. law enforcement officials have fined 21 people across the country for health care programs during the epidemic as part of a major management effort to prevent people from using COVID-19 fraudulently, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
Recent lawsuits include cases involving fraudulent Medicare and other payment claims, money laundering and money laundering, the department said, adding to allegations that it led to more than $ 149 million in fraudulent payments related to COVID-19 in government programs and theft from government-sponsored government. epidemic relief programs.
More than $ 8 million in cash and other fraudulent funds were recovered, the statement said.
“Throughout the epidemic, we have seen trustworthy medical professionals plan and commit serious crimes against their patients for financial gain,” said Luis Quesada, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Investigative Division, said Luis Quesada.
Others have been charged with producing and distributing fake COVID-19 vaccine cards, he added.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has said it has taken 28 steps to provide health care providers with allegations of fraud, according to the Department of Justice.
The department last month contacted the organisation’s prosecutor to lead COVID-related anti-fraud efforts, saying such an investigation was a priority.
Since the end of March, Justice officials said they had brought more than a thousand criminal cases as part of their efforts to enforce the epidemic.