100 charged in Medicare fraud busts in 7 cities
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More than 100 defendants are being charged in seven cities with Medicare fraud in a nationwide crackdown.
Federal authorities said the unrelated scams allegedly bilked the taxpayer-funded program of more than $450 million — the highest dollar amount in a single Medicare bust in U.S. history.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder held a press conference in Washington to announce the arrests. Their agencies partnered in 2009 to increase enforcement by allocating more money and staff and creating strike forces in fraud hot spots.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Tuesday, hundreds of federal agents fanned out around the country, raiding businesses, seizing documents and arresting suspects in Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Tampa, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La.