
The indictments are piling up in a Detroit-area healthcare fraud investigation.
Federal agents arrested four more people Dec. 7 for an alleged Medicare fraud scheme, bringing the total numer accused to 21.
The two-count indictment, unsealed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan, alleges the group schemed to bill Medicare for therapy services that were unnecessary or never performed.
The alleged conspirators owned and operated two Oak Park, Mich.-based health agencies, Patient Choice Home Healthcare and All American Home Care, according to the indictment. The fraud, allegedly committed between August 2007 and Sept. 2009, involved the recruitment of Medicare beneficiaries who were paid off for their medical information and signatures on forms indicating they received treatment.
It’s at least the fourth Medicare fraud-related round of arrests since a Motor City strike force was organized in May 2009 as part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team launched by President Barack Obama with the Depts. of Justice and Health & Human Services.