They could be shopping in your local supermarket, frequenting your favorite restaurants or even living next door. The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) wants you to be on the lookout for "
health care fugitives" who've allegedly ripped-off Medicare, Medicaid and other health care programs.
“Individuals who steal from Federal health care programs and then flee from the consequences of their crimes must be held accountable. We hope our new Web page will encourage the public to help us apprehend these fugitives,” said Gerald T. Roy, OIG deputy inspector general for investigations.
CMS launched the list on Feb. 2. There are 10 fugitives on the list who are accused of committing acts of fraud costing taxpayers more than $124 million. They include:
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Carlos, Luis, and Jose Benitez, working through their Miami-area HIV infusion clinics, are accused of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare totaling about $110 million. OIG alleges that the services for which the brothers billed were medically unnecessary or never administered.
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Leonard Nwafor and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for $1.1 million and collected $525,000 in fraudulent claims for such durable medical equipment (DME) as motorized wheelchairs, scooters, and hospital beds for beneficiaries. This investigation was led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, including OIG investigators, which was created to identify and prosecute fraudulent DME companies and laboratories in the Greater Los Angeles area.
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Susan Bendigo is accused of billing Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, for $17.1 million, $10 million of which she actually collected. Working as director of nursing for a company providing nurses for home health agencies, Bendigo is said to have sent unlicensed nurses to treat Medi-Cal patients, though she knew Medi-Cal required licensed nurses to perform this work.