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First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said Thursday’s press conference about fraud in the state of Minnesota was “outlier in a bad way.”
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Many other states have seen billions of dollars stolen through similar schemes that have also been uncovered in Minnesota.
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This year, $10.6 billion in Medicare and Medicaid fraud was discovered in a case in New York.
(Fox 9) – At a news conference detailing the new information and fraud charges in Minnesota, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said, “I think we [Minnesota] An outlier in a bad way. Have I been through (all) 50 states? no But you don’t see fraud on this scale in other states.”
FOX 9 searched fraud records in other states to determine the scope and severity of current schemes in Minnesota.
The results show that Minnesota is not alone in being a target for bad actors.
Fact Check: Fraud Investigations in Other States
What do we know?
New York
In one of the largest fraud cases in the U.S., 15 defendants were indicted in June on health care plans.
In this case, individuals defrauded the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and other health care benefit programs, of more than $10.6 billion.
Dubbed “Operation Gold Rush”, it was the largest health care fraud case by the amount of damages charged by the Department of Justice.
Arizona
In 2023, federal authorities uncovered a $2.5 billion Medicaid fraud scheme targeting Native Americans seeking treatment for addictions.
From 2019 to 2023, behavioral health providers and sober living homes increased Medicaid payments. The investigation revealed that many operators did not even provide the services they billed for.
Georgia
Investigators uncovered a $463 million fraud when a Georgia man submitted claims that patients didn’t need genetic and other lab tests. Those tests were procured through bribes and kickbacks.
The man was sentenced to 27 years in prison for defrauding Medicare.
COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud
You deep
California
In the nation’s most populous state, there were larger cases of COVID-era fraud than Feeding Our Future, exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic and allegedly resulting in more than $490 million in false billings related to COVID-19.
In this case, 18 defendants were charged with defrauding the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Uninsured Program.
In 2023, another plan in California that occurred during the pandemic was exposed in a $230 million fraud.
A doctor submitted fraudulent claims to the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Uninsured Program for treating patients who defrauded them.
Illinois
Earlier this month, two Illinois brothers were charged with defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and private health care insurers. They have also been found to have laundered assets.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said, “These defendants are charged with a brazen scheme to steal nearly $300 million from vital health care programs by taking advantage of the fear and panic of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Covid-Era Unemployment Insurance Fraud
by number
Another source of fraud during the pandemic was people taking advantage of unemployment insurance.
According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), data shows $16.4 billion paid in unemployment claims during the pandemic, of which less than 1% have been determined to be fraudulent.
Compared to other states and the nation as a whole, Minnesota was an outlier in its lack of fraud.
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that 11% to 15% of the total amount of unemployment insurance benefits paid out during the pandemic was fraudulent.
According to the GAO, $1 trillion went to unemployment benefits at the federal level during the pandemic, resulting in between $100 billion and $135 billion in unemployment fraud.
in KansasA legislative audit found that an estimated 25% of the $2.8 billion in unemployment benefits paid from January 2020 to February 2021 was fraudulent.
in LouisianaAuthorities found $405 million in fraudulent and unqualified claims paid to more than 97,000 accounts, which is 17% of the $6.87 billion in pandemic unemployment relief payments.
ohio There was the same problem, with 13% of unemployment payments being fraudulent.
Alabama, California, Texas and many other states It has been found that there was a big fraud in the program.
