The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Resources has for the first time issued a Most Wanted Fugitives list for Medicare fraud. The Top 10 suspects – representing the worst of the worst from a list of 170 fugitives -- are allegedly responsible for about $124 million in fraudulent claims against the federal healthcare program, OIG said.
Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson said he hopes the Top 10 list will draw public attention to the crime. "With our Most Wanted Fugitives List, OIG is asking the public's help in tracking down fugitives. The public has a stake in the fight against fraud, waste, and abuse," Levinson said.
The Most Wanted Fugitives List on the OIG Web site includes photos and profiles of each featured fugitive. The site includes an online fugitive tip form and the OIG hotline number for reporting fugitive-related information in English or Spanish, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The site will show when a fugitive's status changes, including when he or she is arrested.
"Individuals who steal from federal healthcare programs and then flee from the consequences of their crimes must be held accountable. We hope our new Web page will encourage the public to help us apprehend these fugitives," said Gerald T. Roy, OIG Deputy Inspector General for Investigations.
The 10 people on the most wanted list have allegedly cost taxpayers more than $124 million in fraud, OIG said.
"The Benitez Brothers," who, working through their Miami-area HIV infusion clinics, are accused of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare totaling about $110 million. OIG alleges that the services for which Carlos, Luis, and Jose Benitez billed were medically unnecessary or never administered.
Leonard Nwafor, and co-conspirators, who are accused of billing Medicare for $1.1 million and collecting $525,000 in fraudulent claims for durable medical equipment, including motorized wheelchairs, scooters, and hospital beds. This investigation was led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, including OIG investigators, which was created to identify and prosecute fraudulent DME companies and laboratories in the Greater Los Angeles area.
Susan Bendigo who is accused of billing Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, for $17.1 million, $10 million of which she actually collected. Working as director of nursing for a company providing nurses for home health agencies, Bendigo is said to have sent unlicensed nurses to treat Medi-Cal patients, though she knew Medi-Cal required licensed nurses to perform this work.
John Commins is the news editor for HealthLeaders.