Federal prosecutors filed charges against 11 people on Friday for stealing money from Medicare. The suspects ran a fake medical equipment business from Russia that cost the health program $10.6 billion. They bought real medical companies to make their crime look legal. The group stole personal details from more than one million elderly and disabled Americans. They used this information to file false claims for expensive medical devices.
The criminals never sent any equipment to patients after receiving payments. Medicare paid out about $41 million for the fake bills between 2022 and 2024. Private insurance companies lost around $900 million more during the same period. Court papers show Imam Nakhmatullaev led the operation from Russia. He directed other suspects living in Estonia, Czech Republic and the United States.
Medicare discovered the fraud when hundreds of thousands of Americans complained about strange paperwork. Patients received benefit forms showing they had gotten medical equipment they never ordered or received. The victims contacted Medicare and insurance companies to report the problem. Prosecutors call the group a criminal organization that crossed international borders. The case shows how scammers target government health programs that serve vulnerable populations.
The criminals never sent any equipment to patients after receiving payments. Medicare paid out about $41 million for the fake bills between 2022 and 2024. Private insurance companies lost around $900 million more during the same period. Court papers show Imam Nakhmatullaev led the operation from Russia. He directed other suspects living in Estonia, Czech Republic and the United States.
Medicare discovered the fraud when hundreds of thousands of Americans complained about strange paperwork. Patients received benefit forms showing they had gotten medical equipment they never ordered or received. The victims contacted Medicare and insurance companies to report the problem. Prosecutors call the group a criminal organization that crossed international borders. The case shows how scammers target government health programs that serve vulnerable populations.
