 merrie says: Some pay homeless people on Los Angeles' Skid Row for Medicare or Social Security numbers to use in fake billing invoices. Others intimidate elderly victims to use their Medicare numbers, federal authorities say. Most Medicare schemes are based in cities such as Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit and Houston. And rather than building an elaborate hierarchy like the Mafia or other gangs, many Medicare con artists use common street criminals to recruit patients and doctors, authorities said. A Medicare scammer could easily net at least $25,000 a day while risking a relatively modest 10 years in prison if convicted on a single count. A cocaine dealer could take weeks to make that amount while risking up to life in prison. "Building a Medicare fraud scam is far safer than dealing in crack or dealing in stolen cars, and it's far more lucrative," said Lewis Morris, lead attorney at the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general's office. One Southern California criminal task force has arrested about 50 suspects for Medicare fraud in the last three years. And 11 members of New York’s Bonanno family were indicted in May in a Medicare fraud scheme in South Florida. They were accused of stealing patients’ Medicare numbers and using them to submit false claims. Other allegations included identity theft and conspiring to commit murder. Even criminals with violent records, including a convicted murderer, have been able to obtain Medicare supplier licenses. Applicants with felony records can only be rejected if their convictions are 10 years old or less. “It’s outrageous that those trusted to provide medical care are really nothi... |
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