The Department of Justice is unveiled charges against more than 400 people with taking part in health care fraud and opioid scams that totaled $1.3 billion in false billing across the country, with much of the illegal activity taking place right here in South Florida.
"One fake rehab facility for drug addicts in Palm Beach is alleged to have recruited addicts with gift cards, visits to strip clubs and even drugs," said U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in reference to Real Life Recovery in Delray Beach. "Enabling the company to bill for more than 58 million dollars in false treatments and false tests."
Nearly 300 health care providers are being suspended or banned from participating in federal health care programs by the Department of Health and Human Services. The charges include more than 120 medical professionals who are involved in prescribing and distributing narcotics, making this the largest opioid takedown operation in American history.
In the Southern District of Florida alone, 77 defendents were rounded up after totalling $141 million in false billings for services including home health care, mental health services and pharmacy fraud.
“Health care fraud schemes have real, long-term consequences for our South Florida community," Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg said. " Today’s announcement highlights South Florida’s united and ongoing law enforcement effort, culminating in charges against more than twenty percent of the national defendants, to thwart evolving schemes and combat the unlawful distribution of opioids and prescriptions drugs."
The FBI had raided the Delray Beach facilities run by Eric Snyder in 2014 and on Tuesday Snyder was charged with several counts, including double billing for urine tests and charging for treatment on days that the patients named were not at his facilities. Some were later found to actually be in jail while Snyder and his team claimed to be treating them.
"This massive fraud takedown targeted people abusing our health care industry and, in some cases, profiting from patients trying to recover from opioid addiction," said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. "The arrests and recoveries announced today should serve as a warning to anyone scheming to commit health care fraud that we will find them and they will be held accountable."
Acting DEA administrator Chuck Rosenberg says about 59,000 people died from drug overdoses last year, comparing it to triple the number of victims from the Pulse nightclub shootings losing their lives every day. Sessions says another American dies from a drug overdoes every eleven minutes.
(Photo credit: Spencer Platt)