The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division has successfully secured convictions against six defendants involved in healthcare fraud schemes across Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, and California. These convictions, achieved in less than three weeks, represent a significant effort to combat fraud that has cost over $1.1 billion.

Florida’s Telehealth Fraud

In Fort Lauderdale, Brett Blackman, CEO of HealthSplash, was convicted for a telehealth scheme that exploited Medicare patients. The platform, DMERx, used foreign call centers to pressure patients into unnecessary purchases, with Medicare paying over $450 million in false claims.

California’s Botox Billing

In Los Angeles, Dr. Violetta Mailyan was found guilty of billing Medicare $24 million for Botox injections that were never administered. Her fraudulent activities included billing during vacations and fabricating medical records.

Narcotics Hub in New York

Brooklyn’s Tony Brown-Arkah ran a clinic that misused Suboxone prescriptions to attract patients, leading to a $52 million fraud. The clinic ignored lab results and paid kickbacks to recruit patients.

Tennessee’s Opioid Distribution

Heather Marks in Carthage, Tennessee, was convicted for prescribing nearly one million opioid pills, despite clear signs of abuse. Her actions contributed significantly to the opioid crisis in the region.

Michigan’s Home Health Kickbacks

Ruby Scott in Detroit was convicted for using bribes to obtain patient identities for fraudulent Medicare billing, resulting in over $1.6 million in losses.

These cases underscore the Justice Department’s commitment to tackling healthcare fraud, ensuring accountability for those exploiting federal benefit programs.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.