32 Accused of $60M in Medicare Fraud in 3 States

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Federal agents have arrested about two dozen suspects in three states in a major crackdown on Medicare fraud totaling $61 million in separate scams.

The suspects are accused of lining up bogus patients and billing Medicare for everything from unnecessary medical equipment and physical therapy to HIV infusions.

A Florida doctor accused of running a $40 million home health care scheme was among those arrested during sweeps in Miami, Brooklyn and Detroit. Authorities say Dr. Fred Dweck of Miami falsely listed patients as blind diabetics in a scam to tap a Medicare program that pays very high rates to care for the sickest patients.

Authorities allege the suspects in Detroit paid recruiters to find patients willing to fake their symptoms to justify expensive testing.

In Brooklyn, a mother and son are accused of billing Medicare $246 per patient for expensive shoe inserts reserved for diabetes patients, and then allegedly provided cheap, over-the-counter versions.