Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the arrests and charges, spread over the past few weeks, involved various scams defrauding insurance companies, patients, and Medicare. Authorities have seized over $230 million in assets.
A significant case involved a $900 million scam in Arizona, where clinic owners Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King allegedly received $330 million in kickbacks for unnecessary wound treatments billed to Medicare. The fraudulent activities, including amniotic grafts and wound bandaging for non-needy patients, resulted in some patient deaths. Gehrke and King, arrested while attempting to flee to London, are currently in jail awaiting trial, with their assets seized by federal authorities.
Other cases in the crackdown included fake sobriety clinics, mislabeled HIV drugs, and schemes defrauding Native American tribes. The DOJ emphasized its commitment to evolving its strategies to combat healthcare fraud, ensuring that those exploiting patients and defrauding government programs are held accountable. All accused individuals are awaiting trial, with no convictions announced yet