Trump’s DOJ Shuts Down a $14.6 Billion Medicare Fraud Ring

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has uncovered a massive Medicare fraud involving over 300 defendants, amounting to over $14.6 billion. Dubbed “Operation Gold Rush,” it involved Medicare claims that patients never received or were subjected to unnecessary operations for the sole purpose of making fraudulent claims. Some end-of-life patients were subjected to unnecessary skin graft procedures, resulting in fraudulent Medicare claims.

In one case, Arizona-based defendants purchased skin grafts known as “amniotic wound allografts” and applied them to elderly Medicare recipients, receiving millions in medical claims.

“Patients and their families trusted these providers with their lives. Instead of receiving care, they became victims of elaborate criminal schemes,” Head of the Criminal Division  Matthew Galeotti said.

Over 15.6 million pills of controlled substances were also distributed over the course of the fraudulent campaign, further exacerbating the opioid crisis. Fifty-eight cases involving 25 doctors were linked to the distribution of controlled substances. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) assisted in the operation by investigating doctors and pharmacists allegedly involved in the operation.

“These pills ended up on our streets in the hands of dealers and in the path of addiction,” a DEA official said.

The campaign also involved foreign individuals from various countries, including Russia and Pakistan, who used stolen identities to file medical care claims, defrauding American taxpayers.

According to the DOJ, foreign companies involved in the massive Medicare fraud bought U.S. medical supply companies and used stolen identities to file over $10 billion in medical care claims. 

Pakistani-based marketing organizations also used artificial intelligence to create fake recordings of the alleged patients consenting to receive medical supplies. Over $1.17 billion in medical claims linked to 49 defendants were related to telemedicine and genetic testing.

“We are concerned about the criminals’ advancement in technology here, obviously,” Galeotti said.

Several foreign nationals were arrested in Estonia, while others were nabbed at the U.S.-Mexico border or U.S. airports trying to flee the country. International defendants will be extradited to the United States to face charges related to medical care fraud.  Assets, including cash, luxury vehicles, and cryptocurrency worth over $245 million, were seized during the 2025 National Healthcare Fraud Takedown.

In addition, 324 defendants, including 96 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other licensed medical professionals, were criminally charged.

$48.6 million was also recovered through civil enforcement actions affecting over 126 defendants. The operation also stopped the payment of over $4 billion in suspected fraudulent Medicare claims linked to 205 providers.

“This takedown represents the largest healthcare fraud takedown in American history,” DOJ Criminal Division head Matthew Galeotti said. “But it’s not the end. It’s the beginning of a new era of aggressive prosecution and data-driven prevention.”

The DOJ’s healthcare fraud unit relied heavily on data to identify the alarming trend, including suspicious billing patterns and fraudulent medical procedures that seemed to relocate from one region to another. Meanwhile, the DOJ intends to create a “Health Care Fraud Data Fusion Center” that will aggregate data from various federal government agencies to detect similar medical care fraud in the future.

“This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

“Make no mistake – this administration will not tolerate criminals who line their pockets with taxpayer dollars while endangering the health and safety of our communities.”