Justice Department announces hundreds of charges in multibillion-dollar health care fraud crackdown

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WASHINGTON, The Justice Department on Tuesday announced criminal charges against 455 people as part of a two-week health care fraud crackdown that officials say involved more than $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to insurers. Among those charged is a nurse practitioner accused in Texas of billing Medicaid for medically unnecessary wound-care procedures and using the proceeds for fancy jewelry and luxury cars; a mental health company owner who prosecutors say exploited the homeless by billing for crisis stabilization services they did not need; and a hospice owner alleged to have paid kickbacks to a funeral home employee for information about Medicare beneficiaries. Read the rest…