Nursing Home Head Allegedly Abused Seniors To Defraud The Federal Goverment Of $1 Billion

The head of more than 30 assisted-living facilities in Florida has been charged for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of more than $1 billion over the last 14 years — the largest case of health care fraud ever handled by the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to the DOJ’s findings, Esformes Network facilities owner Philip Esformes allegedly placed around 14,000 elderly people in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, even if they didn’t meet the criteria to enroll. Many of these unqualified patients then received “medically unnecessary services” that staff billed to Medicare and Medicaid. In some cases, prosecutors claimed, Esformes and his “co-conspirators” plied elderly patients with narcotics to force an addiction that would prolong their stay and continue their reliance on Medicare costs....
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/07/25/3801584/doj-health-care-fraud-florida/