Executives and others associated with telemedicine and durable medical equipment (DME) companies were charged in one of the largest health care fraud schemes investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The alleged scheme involved the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes by DME companies in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries by medical professionals working with fraudulent telemedicine companies for back, shoulder, wrist, and knee braces that are medically unnecessary. It involved 24 individuals responsible for over $1.2 billion in losses. Adverse administrative action was taken against 130 DME companies that had submitted over $1.7 billion in claims and paid over $900 million. Read an AP news story. Read a Department of Justice press release.
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