The swamp creatures have been draining taxpayer dollars for years.
But one fraudster finally got exposed for his outrageous scheme.
And this Missouri man just got caught in a Medicare scam that will make your blood boil.
$174 million Medicare fraud scheme unraveled
Jamie P. McNamara thought he could game the system and nobody would notice.
The 49-year-old Kansas City resident was living high on the hog by bilking Medicare out of tens of millions of dollars.
McNamara operated several laboratories in Louisiana and Texas that were supposedly conducting genetic testing for cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
But the whole operation was nothing more than an elaborate con job designed to fleece American taxpayers.
According to court documents from the Department of Justice, McNamara’s laboratories submitted over $174 million in claims to Medicare for genetic testing over just one and a half years.
The government paid out over $55 million in reimbursements before authorities caught on to the scam.
McNamara’s scheme was as brazen as it was profitable.
He hired telemarketers and call centers to use aggressive tactics to convince Medicare beneficiaries to agree to genetic testing they didn’t need.
The testing orders came from so-called “telemedicine doctors” who weren’t actually treating these patients.
These fake doctors never performed consultations with the beneficiaries and never followed up after the bogus testing was completed.
Kickbacks and bribes fueled the fraud
McNamara kept his criminal enterprise running by paying illegal kickbacks and bribes to keep the fake orders flowing.
He tried to cover his tracks by disguising these payments through sham contracts.
When Medicare started getting suspicious about the massive billing from his labs, McNamara shifted the billing between different laboratories to throw investigators off the scent.
The fraudster even went so far as to falsely list his family members as owners and company representatives on Medicare documents to hide his control of the operation.
“The defendant used illegal payments and lies to fraudulently bill Medicare over $174 million,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
McNamara was living the high life while ripping off taxpayers and vulnerable seniors.
The government seized several luxury vehicles and over $7 million from his bank accounts when they finally caught up with him.
Justice Department cracks down on Medicare fraud
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana didn’t mince words about the impact of McNamara’s scheme.
“Medicare fraud schemes profoundly erode taxpayer confidence and faith in our medical institutions,” Simpson stated.
The FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp pointed out how McNamara preyed on Americans who were genuinely concerned about their health.
“McNamara lined his pockets by preying on vulnerable Americans concerned about their health,” Tapp explained. “The genetic tests Medicare patients were lured into receiving did not provide them with any answers on their predisposition to life threatening illnesses and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.”
McNamara’s arrogance didn’t end when he got caught either.
While out on pretrial release, he violated his bond conditions by fleeing from a DUI arrest and cutting off his ankle monitor.
That landed him right back in jail where he belonged.
Massive government crackdown on healthcare fraud
McNamara pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 9.
He faces up to 10 years in prison for his crimes.
But McNamara is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has been busy rooting out fraudsters across the country.
Since March 2007, the program has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion.
That’s $30 billion in taxpayer money that criminals tried to steal from programs designed to help sick and elderly Americans.
Deputy Inspector General Christian J. Schrank of HHS-OIG made it clear that the government won’t tolerate these schemes.
“Misleading patients with fraudulent genetic testing schemes to exploit the Medicare program is not just unethical — it’s criminal,” Schrank declared.
The strike force program currently operates 9 strike forces in 27 federal districts, showing just how widespread healthcare fraud has become.
These criminals think they can get rich by stealing from programs that are supposed to help the most vulnerable Americans.
McNamara’s case shows what happens when the government finally decides to get serious about prosecuting these fraudsters.
The luxury cars, millions in bank accounts, and high-flying lifestyle all came crashing down when investigators started connecting the dots.
Now McNamara is facing serious prison time for his greed and dishonesty.
Cases like this prove that there are still some people in government who are willing to go after the real criminals instead of persecuting political opponents.
Medicare fraud hurts everyone by draining resources that should go to legitimate medical care for seniors and disabled Americans.
Every dollar these scammers steal is a dollar that can’t be used to help people who actually need medical treatment.
The Justice Department deserves credit for taking down McNamara’s operation and sending a message to other would-be fraudsters.
Hopefully this is just the beginning of a serious crackdown on the criminals who have been bleeding taxpayers dry for years.
