Fraud By The Numbers

Fraud By The Numbers Series

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 13

    Twenty-eight million Americans now rely on “Medicare Advantage” (MA) plans, also known as “Part C” for their health insurance benefits. These plans have a special structure, which can improve service and provide savings, but unfortunately also provide new ways for companies to cheat the government. MA plans offer the same “traditional” Medicare benefits to beneficiaries…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 12

    In November 2009, the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (“FFETF”) was established to address a financial crisis to which mortgage fraud contributed. The following year, FFETF, together with DOJ and the FBI, announced its first enforcement action: Operation Stolen Dreams. This enforcement action was an “aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort” to target financial fraud, prosecute…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 11

    In FY 2021, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) budget was $703.7 billion.   This is more money in absolute terms than any other Country spends on Defense.  It is also more than any other NATO country spends per person on defense at $2,186 per American. Therefore, every American has a stake in ensuring that money…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 10

    The federal and state False Claims Acts empower whistleblowers to fight fraud against the government. But fraud targets private insurers too, and every American pays for the high cost of this fraud through higher insurance premiums every day. Private insurance fraud costs the public over $100 billion per year and takes an estimated $1,400 per…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 9

    The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a dramatic increase in the use of telehealth services, and this higher usage is likely to continue in the future.   In 2019, before the pandemic, 840,000 Medicare telehealth services were received by 910,000 unique Medicare telemedicine beneficiaries. From March 2020 to February 28, 2021:  52.7 million Medicare telehealth services were…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 8

    Over the next few days, we will highlight the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has added another layer to existing healthcare fraud. Last year, we put into perspective some of the largest sources of government funding, which include, among other government-sponsored healthcare programs, Medicare and Medicaid. Further, we discussed the projected growth of Medicare…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 7

    Today, the world’s Fourth Annual Clean Air Day, we celebrate the United States’ historic investment in protecting our climate.  Just three weeks ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 into law.  The Act tackles many major issues, including drug prices for seniors and funding for IRS enforcement, but chief among them is…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 6

    When we think about government spending and where fraud may be prevalent, we tend to focus on the federal fisc. However, state and local governments spend trillions of dollars each year in service of their citizens. In FY 2021, total state spending reached $2.65 trillion (including DC), up from $2.28 trillion in fiscal 2020 –…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 5

    “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead Last Labor Day, Fraud by the Numbers paid homage to the powerful group of government and private attorneys who, together with a corps of investigative agents, are the front-line…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 4

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) is the nation’s largest federal law enforcement agency. As part of their broad mission to secure the nation’s borders, CBP employees juggle myriad responsibilities, including intercepting terrorists and criminals, keeping illegal weapons out of the United States, and managing the flow of visitors and migrants. Amid these numerous priorities,…