(Stock photo)

Four Mississippians are among the more than 300 individuals arrested in what federal and state prosecutors are calling the largest coordinated takedown of health care fraud schemes in Justice Department history. This sweeping crackdown, detailed Monday, highlights a growing threat from transnational criminal networks exploiting the U.S. health care system.

Law enforcement efforts resulted in the seizure of over $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency, and other assets. Prosecutors warned that perpetrators were identified in locations ranging from Russia and Eastern Europe to Pakistan and other countries, underscoring the global nature of these illicit operations.

“These criminals didn’t just steal someone else’s money. They stole from you,” stated Matthew Galeotti, who leads the Justice Department’s criminal division. “Every fraudulent claim, every fake billing, every kickback scheme represents money taken directly from the pockets of American taxpayers who fund these essential programs through their hard work and sacrifice.”

The alleged $14.6 billion in fraud uncovered in this operation is more than double the previous record for the Justice Department’s annual health care fraud crackdown. It encompasses nearly 190 federal cases and over 90 state cases that have been charged or unsealed since June 9. Among those charged are nearly 100 licensed medical professionals, including 25 doctors, with the government reporting $2.9 billion in actual losses.

A prime example of the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by these organizations is a $10 billion urinary catheter scheme, dubbed “Operation Gold Rush.” Authorities allege the group behind this massive fraud used foreign straw owners to secretly acquire dozens of medical supply companies. They then leveraged stolen identities and confidential health data to file fraudulent Medicare claims. Nineteen defendants have been charged in this investigation, with arrests made in Estonia and at U.S. entry points, including airports and the Mexican border. The Justice Department revealed that the scheme involved the stolen identities and personal information of more than one million Americans.

“It’s not done by small time operators,” commented Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “These are organized syndicates who are designing to hurt America.”

In Mississippi, Ricky Wayne Quinn and John Anthony Null, both pharmacists from Corinth, were charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. They allegedly defrauded Medicare and Medicaid of over $700,000 by repeatedly billing for the same prescription drugs. Their scheme involved paying “runners” to return unopened prescription drugs, which were then restocked and re-billed.

Willie De Gibbs, a businessman from Toomsuba, Mississippi, and Cutler Bay, Florida, faces charges including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering. He is accused of orchestrating a $19 million durable medical equipment (DME) fraud scheme, paying kickbacks for fraudulent doctors’ orders to bill Medicare for orthotic braces that beneficiaries did not need. Gibbs also allegedly applied for fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

Auzie Phillip Smith, Jr., 66, of Madison, Mississippi, was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to offer/receive kickbacks in connection with a $1.4 million laboratory fraud scheme. As a marketer for diagnostic laboratories, Smith allegedly paid illegal kickbacks to medical providers to induce referrals for unnecessary molecular diagnostic testing, including of toenail clippings, leading to millions in false claims to Medicare.