Fraud Alerts Contain Information About Current Scams Taking Place in Illinois, Announcements s2

FRAUD ALERT

Friday May 31, 2013

Please share this Fraud Dear SMP readers, Alert with colleagues, consumers, or other This week’s Fraud Alert contains news about recent Medicare fraud professionals in your area. If charges against seven Chicago area individuals, the sentencing of you have any questions two individuals in Southwestern Illinois for Medicaid fraud, and a about the Illinois SMP warning from a local county about scammers using pre-paid debit program, or to receive these cards as a tool to steal money. Fraud Alerts directly, please contact Jason Echols, Have a great weekend! Healthcare Consumer Protection Coordinator at What you will find in this week’s Fraud Alert AgeOptions.  Seven Chicago Individuals Charged with Medicare Fraud; 89 People Charged in Nationwide Takedown This project was supported in part  Two Southern Illinois Individuals Sentenced for Medicaid Fraud by grant numbers 90MP0163 and 90SP0015 from the U.S.  Pre-Paid Debit Cards: A Scam Artist’s Tool Administration on Aging, Department of Health and Human Seven Chicago Individuals Charged with Medicare Fraud; 89 People Services, Washington, D.C. Charged in Nationwide Takedown 20201. Grantees undertaking On May 14, seven Chicago-area Individuals were charged with Medicare projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to fraud in five separate cases. Two cases involve alleged billing for express freely their findings and services not provided, including surgeries never performed. Another conclusions. Points of view or case alleges that the owner of a durable medical equipment company opinions do not, therefore, forged a physician’s signature to create false documentation so that the necessarily represent official company could provide medically unnecessary equipment. Two cases Administration on Aging policy. involved allegedly accepting kickback payments for referrals to home health agencies. The details and charges of these five local cases are Fraud In The News outlined in this FBI press release: The following are current http://www.fbi.gov/chicago/press-releases/2013/federal-medicare-fraud- news articles about health strike-force-charges-chicago-area-defendants-with-defrauding-medicare- care and fraud issues. and-other-health-insurers Health Care Fraud: These seven charges were part of a nationwide takedown of 89 1. “United States Files False individuals organized by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in Claims Act Lawsuit eight cities. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force is part of the Health Care Against the Largest For- Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative Profit Hospice Chain in the between the Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and United States” (DoJ Press Human Services (HHS) to address health care fraud. The May 14 Release): takedown is the sixth major national HEAT Take Force takedown since http://www.justice.gov/opa/ the initiative began in 2009. Read the national HHS press release here: pr/2013/May/13-civ- http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/05/20130514a.html 500.html 2. “'I don’t need it ... I don’t Two Southern Illinois Individuals Sentenced for Medicaid Fraud want it': Medicare fraud Two individuals in Southwestern Illinois were sentenced for their role in targets seniors, scooters” defrauding a Medicaid waiver program. The charges included falsely (McClatchy/Belleville billing the state of Illinois for services supposedly performed in the News-Democrat): beneficiary’s home. These services were never performed because the http://www.bnd.com/2013/ beneficiary was in prison at the time. Read more about this case in this 05/07/2607916/medicare- Department of Justice press release: fraud-targets-seniors.html http://www.justice.gov/usao/ils/News/2013/May/05212013_Geary %20Press%20Release.html 3. “The Affordable Care Act: When Scams Follow the News” (FTC): Pre-Paid Debit Cards: A Scam Artist’s Tool http://www.consumer.ftc.g One of our Fraud Alert readers in DuPage County sent us this story of ov/blog/affordable-care- two separate incidents of scammers using Green Dot MoneyPak card, a act-when-scams-follow- type of pre-paid debit card, to steal money from local residents. In both news cases, scammers called the targeted individuals claiming they had won a new car and over $2 million in a sweepstakes drawing. However, in order Consumer Fraud: to claim the prize, they were told to purchase Green Dot MoneyPak 4. “Fraud Advisory: Beware cards, add $500 to the cards, and call the scammer back to give the PIN of Identity Thieves number on the back of their cards. Since the Green Dot MoneyPaks Seeking to Redirect Your work like cash, the scammers are able to put the money on their own Social Security Benefits” pre-paid debit cards, leaving no way to trace the money. (SSA OIG): http://oig.ssa.gov/newsroo Remember that an actual sweepstakes would not ask you to pay before m/news- you can claim a prize you won. Never send money to a stranger or releases/may3advisory someone you do not know, whether they ask you to wire money or use