Summary
15 October 2010
US officials have charged 73 people over what they say is the largest ever attempt to defraud the country's healthcare system. They are believed to have links with the Armenian mafia.
Reporter:
Steve Kingstone
Most of the accused were arrested in New York City and Los Angeles
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The indictments paint a picture of a far-reaching and powerful organised crime network, which prosecutors say "puts the traditional mafia to shame".
Most of those accused are of Armenian family origin. They allegedly operated under the protection of Armen Kazarian, a man described as an elite organised crime boss, now in a Los Angeles jail.
The group is accused of setting up more than 100 phantom clinics spanning 25 American states, and then invoicing the government for treatment that never took place.
Investigators uncovered evidence of US$163 million in false billing, which targeted Medicare, the federal insurance program for the elderly. Prosecutors say it's the largest ever Medicare fraud committed by a single criminal entity, adding that the whole doctor-patient relationship was a "mirage".
FBI agents arrested 52 people on Wednesday. A total of 73 alleged gang members have been charged with racketeering and related offences. The indictment says some of the proceeds from the operation were couriered back to Armenia in cash.
Steve Kingstone, 大象传媒 News, Washington
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Vocabulary
- indictments
formal statements accusing someone of something wrong
- far-reaching
influential
- puts (something or someone) to shame
is superior to (something)
- allegedly
supposedly or said but not proven
- phantom
unreal
- spanning
extending over
- invoicing
requesting payment from
- mirage
something that you think you can see but doesn't exist
- racketeering
acquiring money by illegal means
- proceeds
revenue or income
