The Trump administration just shattered records with the largest healthcare fraud takedown in U.S. history, charging over 300 defendants for bilking Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers out of an eye-popping $14.6 billion.
“This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens,” declared Attorney General Pam Bondi, warning that this administration will not tolerate predators lining their pockets with taxpayer dollars.
Led by the DOJ’s Criminal Division, the takedown uncovered horrifying schemes: from distributing 15 million opioid pills to fraudulent skin grafts on terminal hospice patients. In Arizona, one nurse allegedly applied expensive skin grafts to patients just days from death—reaping millions while robbing patients of their last moments with dignity. “That conduct is exactly as callous and disturbing as it sounds,” said DOJ Criminal Division chief Matthew Galeotti.
The charges include 49 defendants tied to over $1.17 billion in Medicare fraud and 170 more behind $1.84 billion in fraudulent claims—often for fake tests, ghost visits, and shady kickbacks.
Then there’s Operation Gold Rush: a jaw-dropping scheme where 20 defendants, including operatives tied to Russian-based transnational crime rings, used stolen identities and shell companies to file $10.6 billion in fake Medicare claims centered on medical catheters. Defendants were arrested across the globe—from U.S. airports to Estonia, thanks to international cooperation.
To fight back harder, the DOJ also launched a new fusion center to merge forces with other agencies and analyze healthcare data in real time. And CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz is calling on the American people: “Over half of the fraud against our government is in healthcare.”
Under President Trump’s leadership, the message is clear: you steal from the sick and the taxpayer—you will pay.