The Largest Medicare Scam in U.S. History Was Just Discovered In Miami

An excellent example of government corruption just popped up in Miami, and in a billion dollar way.

According to the Miami Herald, Philip Esformes ran one of the largest chains of healthcare centers in the Miami-Dade area, with some 30 locations. Reports say that Esformes is alleged to have defrauded medicaire by continuously performing completely unnecessary procedures.

Philip Esformes, 47, charged with two other defendants, is accused of exploiting his network of about 20 Miami-Dade skilled-nursing and assisted-living facilities to fleece the taxpayer-funded Medicare by filing false claims for services that were not necessary or in some instances not provided over the past 14 years.

According to the Justice Department, Esformes is also guilty of pocketing kickbacks that would bring the beneficiaries to other healthcare providers.

While Esformes billed for $1 billion dollars for performing all these “services,” Medicare has only paid out $500 Million since 2009.

“This is the largest single criminal healthcare fraud case ever brought against individuals by the Department of Justice,” the criminal division’s assistant attorney general, Leslie R. Caldwell, said Friday during a news conference at the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami.

“The magnitude of alleged false claims in this scheme is staggering and outrageous, even by South Florida healthcare fraud standards,” said U.S. attorney Wifredo Ferrer. “This case illustrates once again that Medicare fraud has infected every aspect of the healthcare system.”

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