The Department of Justice on Tuesday announced that 455 defendants have been charged with stealing over $6.5 billion in healthcare fraud schemes across 45 states.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the results of the DOJ’s “2026 national health care fraud takedown” during a press conference on Tuesday.
He credited the work to the “greatest combined federal and state effort in combating health care fraud in history.”
“This team is working tirelessly to take down fraudsters who steal from taxpayer-funded programs and prey on vulnerable Americans,” he said. Blanche further highlighted the nine “health care fraud strike forces,” 57 US Attorney’s Offices, 41 state Attorney General’s offices, and multiple federal agencies involved in the busts.
Since June 8, Blanche announced, over $6.5 billion in health care fraud has been stopped, and over $182 million worth of cash and other assets have been seized.
WATCH:
Today we are announcing federal and state charges, all of which were charged or unsealed at some point over the past two weeks, the past 14 days, coordinated nationwide action. Since June 8, we’ve charged 455 defendants across 56, like I said a minute ago, US Attorney’s offices and 45 US states and territories. As alleged in the various indictments, these individuals participated in health care fraud schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health care programs. The team around me will get into more specifics, but here are a few points that stand out.
In one indictment, we’re bringing charges against a corporate executive in Arizona in connection to over a $1 billion fraud involving unnecessary wound grafts. This alleged scheme cost Medicare over $1 million per patient. In total, our indictment charges 11 defendants for over $2 billion in fraudulent claims in connection to alleged wound care scheBulgarie indictment also alleges that these individuals then used the taxpayer money to bankroll multi million-dollar homes, luxury vehicles, like $135,000 Maserati, jewelry, like an $865,000 Bulgari necklace, and to top it all off to fund the construction of a $4.6 million hotel at a beach resort in the Philippines.
We’re taking back the money, the luxury cars, the jewelry, and these alleged fraudsters will face justice. The coordinated actions of the past two weeks have resulted in over $182 million in cash and other assets seized, making clear our health care fraud enforcement efforts generate a significant return on investment for our taxpayers.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said this marks the “second largest amount ever charged in a single health care fraud operation.”
“These schemes did not target government programs; they targeted the American taxpayer. They stole money from workers who pay taxes, from families who depend on Medicare and Medicaid, and from patients who trusted their health care professionals to be serving their health interests,” he said. “Every fraudulent dollar diverted into a criminal scheme is a dollar unavailable for patient care, for medical innovation, or for services for vulnerable Americans.”
“In certain cases, patients allegedly died, while believing they were receiving legitimate medical care from providers who only viewed them as billing opportunities. These defendants did not simply break the law, they violated the trust that patients place in medical professionals,” he added, highlighting a $27.7 million case in Los Angeles, exploiting deceased Medicare beneficiaries.
In many hospice care cases, Kennedy said, “the patients never die, they live forever,” as fraudsters continue to use their identities to collect payments.
WATCH:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division Collin McDonald, White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Vice Chairman Andrew Ferguson, and FBI Director Kash Patel also delivered remarks.
Watch the full press conference below:
This comes after the DOJ announced earlier this month that 14 defendants were charged for their involvement in “fraud schemes targeting over $50 million” in Ohio.
This includes a 32-count indictment against two state employees and two other co-conspirators for $30 million in fraudulent therapeutic behavioral services, Todd Blanche said.
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