Federal officials in charge of preventing fraud in the billion-dollar Medicare program ignored dozens of warnings of criminal activity during the Bush administration, according to investigations by the Associated Press and U.S. Senator Charles Grassley’s (R-IA) office. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
received approximately 30 tips over a three-year period telling of scams, but responded to less than half of them. In many instances, organized crime groups have been behind the cheating of Medicare, finding it’s easier and less dangerous to make millions from robbing the federal government than resorting to prostitution, gambling or drug dealing.
Southern California is one particularly bad region for Medicare fraud, where Russian, Armenian and Nigerian mafias are now coming under investigation by federal agents.
Konstantin Grigoryan, a former Soviet army colonel turned crime boss, recently pled guilty to taking $20 million from Medicare.
It is estimated that the federal government loses about $60 billion a year to Medicare fraud. A
60 Minutes investigation found Medicare fraud is considered a bigger criminal enterprise in Florida than cocaine trafficking.
-Noel Brinkerhoff