The Justice Department announced criminal charges Tuesday against 455 people as part of a two-week healthcare fraud crackdown involving more than $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to insurers.
Key cases in the crackdown
Among those charged is a nurse practitioner in Texas accused of billing Medicare for medically unnecessary wound-care procedures and using the proceeds for jewelry and luxury cars. A mental health company owner allegedly targeted the homeless by billing for crisis stabilization services they did not receive. A hospice owner is accused of paying kickbacks to a funeral home employee for information about deceased Medicare beneficiaries.
Florida doctor charged in $89 million scheme
Dr. Jason Finkelstein, 53, a heart doctor in Florida, faces charges of healthcare fraud and conspiracy in an $89 million scheme. Prosecutors allege he billed insurers for medically unnecessary cardiovascular screening tests for college student-athletes and then rubber-stamped the results as normal without personally reviewing them. The scheme preyed on athletes' fears of sudden cardiac arrest, administering tests to those with no preexisting conditions. In one case, a patient whose results were falsely certified as normal later died after undetected heart problems, according to the indictment.
Justice Department priorities
Healthcare fraud has been a long-running Justice Department priority. The Trump administration has emphasized enforcement over the last year, including appointing Colin McDonald as assistant attorney general to oversee healthcare fraud prosecutions. McDonald said at a news conference, "Today's cases allege more than the theft of taxpayer dollars. Many allege the theft of human dignity. Our sick, needy and elderly placing their faith in the gift of medicine were neglected, ignored and used for personal profit."
Details of the alleged scheme
The alleged fraud ran between 2019 and the end of 2024, involving Finkelstein and two unidentified co-conspirators at a Florida-based cardiovascular testing practice where he served as medical director. Officials say the scheme used deceptive marketing to offer free heart screens to students who did not need them, then certifying results as normal without review. The indictment quotes Finkelstein telling a co-conspirator, "These kids could be high risk ... One of them drops dead on a field, they’re coming after both of us." Co-conspirators emailed athletic trainers claiming tests could identify life-threatening conditions and offered kickbacks to school officials for referrals.
Fraudulent billing and patient harm
Insurance companies require medical necessity for cardiovascular testing. Prosecutors say Finkelstein submitted phony diagnoses like elevated blood pressure that athletes did not have. His company used uncredentialed sonographers to perform tests on college campuses. Because Finkelstein was licensed in 48 states, they submitted claims nationwide. He certified cardiac test results as normal without review. In 2024, he signed off on 63 test result images of one patient in just 11 seconds. The results revealed a significantly enlarged heart, and the teenage patient later died on the basketball court. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said, "There is no way they could miss that, except they didn’t care. This is not a diagnostic company. It’s a predatory scheme dressed up in medical clothing and we’re going to treat it as such."
