Four people have been charged in connection with a $3 billion healthcare fraud and money laundering operation that prosecutors describe as the largest identity theft-driven healthcare fraud scheme ever prosecuted. The charges were announced this week by federal prosecutors in New Hampshire.
The investigation began after thousands of people, including elderly individuals and those with disabilities, contacted Medicare after receiving Explanation of Benefits forms showing they had received durable medical equipment they never actually ordered or received. That pattern led investigators to a criminal network that prosecutors say systematically billed Medicare and other health insurance programs using stolen identities.
Among those charged is Kakha Bendeliani, 48, of the country of Georgia, who allegedly acted as the nominee owner of a fraudulent medical equipment company called Centennial Med Supply LLC. Prosecutors say he allowed others to use his personal information to purchase the business and set up bank accounts across six U.S. banks. He then allegedly withdrew $12,589,770 in fraudulent Medicare payouts derived from a massive $3 billion urinary catheter billing scam. He allegedly used cashier's checks to conceal the money's origin before wiring more than $12.5 million to overseas accounts.
Goga Danelia, 31, also of Georgia, is charged as Bendeliani's primary accomplice and faces conspiracy to commit money laundering charges. Prosecutors say both men laundered proceeds for a Russian transnational criminal organization.
"These charges expose the staggering scale of fraud and money laundering that Transnational Criminal Organizations are willing to inflict on our health care system and the people of New Hampshire," said Erin Creegan, U.S. attorney for the District of New Hampshire.
A third defendant, Fructoso de Jesus Gomez Agudelo, 76, of Nashua, New Hampshire, is charged with wire fraud and accused of stealing another person's identity. Agudelo allegedly assumed the identity of a U.S. citizen for more than 20 years and used it to collect more than $500,000 in public assistance, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, housing benefits, and food stamps.
In a separate but related case, Rima Gerges-Maalouf, 60, of Massachusetts, was charged with diverting controlled prescription drugs while working as a pharmacist in New Hampshire. Investigators say she opened drug capsules to steal the powdered medication inside.
The indictments, as reported by Fox News, describe a wide-ranging scheme that targeted Medicare along with other government-sponsored health insurance programs and private insurers.
