WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an unprecedented national crackdown, the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges last week against 324 defendants — including nearly 100 licensed medical professionals — across 50 federal districts and 12 state Attorneys General offices for their alleged roles in health care fraud schemes exceeding $14.6 billion in intended losses.
Dubbed the 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, the operation targeted individuals accused of exploiting patients and defrauding federal health programs. Among the defendants were doctors, pharmacists, and nurse practitioners implicated in widespread schemes that included unnecessary treatments, prescription opioid trafficking, telemedicine fraud, and manipulation of patient records.
Federal agents seized over $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency, and other assets. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services prevented more than $4 billion in fraudulent payments and suspended or revoked the billing privileges of 205 providers leading up to the operation.
A major component of this effort focused on transnational criminal networks, including “Operation Gold Rush,” which charged 19 defendants for allegedly using stolen identities to submit $10.6 billion in false claims for durable medical equipment. The group laundered proceeds through cryptocurrency and offshore shell companies, with several suspects arrested overseas and at U.S. borders.
The crackdown also exposed schemes involving fraudulent wound care billing, prescription opioid diversion, and telemedicine scams targeting Medicare beneficiaries. In one example, defendants allegedly used artificial intelligence to generate fake consent recordings to bill for unnecessary genetic tests.
In connection with these efforts, the Department announced the creation of a Health Care Fraud Data Fusion Center, integrating data analytics and artificial intelligence to detect and dismantle fraud schemes more effectively.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi described the operation as “record-setting,” emphasizing the government’s commitment to holding accountable those who endanger patient safety and misuse taxpayer dollars.
This sweeping action spotlights the federal government’s intensified focus on safeguarding health care programs, protecting vulnerable patients, and deterring large-scale financial crimes within the medical system.
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