The Justice Department has announced an expansion of its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to Philadelphia, aimed at combating alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraud involving home health care services.
Federal and state authorities will work together to target alleged scams, bringing together the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
In connection with the announcement, 19 defendants have been charged with participating in schemes involving more than $4 million in claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid.
The defendants include owners and employees of home health care companies, as well as purported aides and Medicaid recipients who allegedly engaged in various forms of fraud.
Pennsylvania authorities have also secured a plea agreement with the final defendant in a previously charged 21-defendant case tied to over $1.7 million in claims.
The expansion of the strike force into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is expected to bring enhanced federal resources to a district with a strong tradition of health care fraud enforcement.
The partnership between the Fraud Division and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will allow law enforcement to more effectively combat criminals who use corporations to commit fraud.
The cases involve allegations that home health aides billed Medicaid for services while they were incarcerated, hospitalized, working other jobs, or traveling overseas.
Prosecutors have also accused defendants of submitting overlapping or impossible work hours, including claims exceeding 24 hours of care in a single day.
One home health care agency and its owners were charged with allegedly billing Medicaid for false clock-ins and clock-outs.
The strike force's expansion is part of a broader effort to combat health care fraud, with recent additions to the program in California, Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Minnesota.
The Philadelphia office will work with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the DEA, and other law enforcement agencies.
The expansion follows two national health care fraud enforcement actions involving over $15 billion and $6 billion in alleged losses in recent years.
