FBI Statement on Health Care Fraud Indictments
| FBI Albuquerque October 13, 2010 |
From Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge, Albuquerque Division:
The FBI in New Mexico, along with its fellow law enforcement partners—the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service—participated in the investigation and take down of a multi-state health care fraud organization today.
This Armenian health care fraud/organized crime organization engaged in physician identity theft which fraudulently billed Medicare for over $160 million, with multi-millions of dollars in losses in the Albuquerque area alone.
The cost to the American public due to health care fraud is in the billions of dollars annually and directly threatens the entire health care system.
On health care fraud matters, the FBI and a number of law enforcement and regulatory agencies will continue to work closely with health care professionals and the general public to stop these fraudulent schemes from continuing to operate throughout the country.
The take down represents a coordinated investigation with FBI and HHS-OIG offices in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Albuquerque.