By Paul Waldmiller
Update: Did you know that more than half of the $6.5 billion in Medicare fraud across the U.S from the historic 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown is tied to Florida?
The U.S Department of Justice has charged thus far, 455 defendants nationwide, with 336 individuals in Florida facing federal or state charges for schemes targeting Medicare, Medicaid and also, the VA.
Here are some of the major busts which involve a wide range of fraudulent activities, from impersonation to massive billing scams:
A man in Miami was charged with submitting $3.76 billion in fraudulent claims for medical equipment and wound dressings, accounting for more than half of the total national fraud amount.
Recently, nine individuals in the Middle District of Florida were indicted for a whopping, $118 million wound care scam involving unnecessary skin grafts on terminally ill patients. One of the nine, Casilda Muniz Rodriguez of Hialeah faced charges for billing $117 million for skin substitutes and wound care products that were never provided through at least 11 fake clinics.
Dr. Jason Finkelstein was accused of $89million fraud involving falsified cardiac tests for student athletes, one of whom died after being cleared to play.
Separate from the federal arrests, Florida state authorities recently charged seven people in a $100 million worker’s compensation operation using shell companies to underreport payroll. Enforcement actions have resulted in the seizure of over $27 million in fraudulent payments in the Southern District of Florida alone. Authorities utilized a “follow and seize the money” approach to recover assets including cash, luxury vehicles, and real estate from defendants across the state.