OAN Staff Blake Wolf
1:08 PM – Monday, June 30, 2025
The Department of Justice has charged 324 individuals, including 100 medical professionals, due to their alleged involvement in a $16.4 billion healthcare fraud scheme, marking the largest healthcare fraud takedown in DoJ history.
The $14.6 billion scheme spanned across all 50 states – resulting in law enforcement seizing over $245 million in cash, cryptocurrency and luxury vehicles, among other assets.
Just in Arizona, a United Arab Emirates-based billing company had allegedly defrauded Medicaid of $650 million, and the company targeted Native American and homeless patients for “addiction treatment scams,” according to the Washington Examiner.
77 of the individuals involved were prosecuted by state attorneys general, while 247 individuals are facing federal charges, ranging from telemedicine fraud and opioid trafficking to other transnational identity theft schemes.
“This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Make no mistake – this administration will not tolerate criminals who line their pockets with taxpayer dollars while endangering the health and safety of our communities.”
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also described the bust as the “largest healthcare fraud investigation, as measured by financial losses, in DOJ history.”
“These criminals didn’t just steal someone else’s money. They stole from you,” stated Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Criminal Division at the DoJ. “Every fraudulent claim, every fake billing, every kickback scheme represents money taken directly from the pockets of American taxpayers who fund these essential programs through their hard work and sacrifice.”
Of the $16.4 billion reported in the scheme, $10.6 billion was found in fraudulent Medicare claims through the stolen identities of over 1 million Americans.
In one instance, Buffalo-based doctor Joel Durinka is accused of producing and maintaining fake medical records, billing Medicare $5.6 million for audio-only telehealth visits which were either extremely brief or did not occur at all, in addition to $29.6 million in fraudulent body braces orders, according to the DoJ.
The federal government seized $324,683 from Durkina, and if convicted, his medical license will presumably be provoked. He is among the 96 doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other licensed medical professionals charged with committing fraud.
“Telemedicine changed the playing field,” stated U.S. Attorney Michael DiGicomo on Monday. “It’s difficult to substantiate these cases, it often takes a long period of time … there’s more nuanced layers.”
“These cases do not happen without the doctor. Because at the end of the day the doctor is the one who signs the prescription form,” DiGicomo continued. “We believe the doctors are one of the most culpable in this because without their prescription, nothing happens.”
In response to the newly uncovered massive fraud scheme, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz stated that the federal government will develop a “fraud war room,” utilizing AI tools and other means to detect fraud prior to releasing public funds.
“We’re stopping stolen taxpayer money from leaving the door,” Oz explained. “These are organized syndicates who are designing to hurt America.”
The mass wave of charges brought against individuals in relation to healthcare fraud under President Donald Trump marks a significant increase in efforts to catch stolen public healthcare funds, compared to previous leadership in the Biden administration, which discovered $2.75 billion in false claims last year.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts