These Silly Crooks Thought They Had the 'Best-Kept Secret' in Town. They Didn't.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is cracking down on a large Medicaid home-care fraud problem in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Federal and state prosecutors have charged 19 people, including home-care company owners, employees, supposed caregivers, and Medicaid recipients – all of whom are accused of billing Medicare and Medicaid more than $4 million for care that never happened.

Some of the alleged schemes were particularly blatant, including:

"Caregivers" who billed Medicaid while they were in prison, hospitalized, overseas, working other jobs, or on vacation.
One person who claimed to be providing care for more than 24 hours a day on over 1,100 occasions.
Another who claimed to care for several patients at the same time, allegedly generating more than $1.2 million in improper payments.
One Medicaid recipient who claimed he was too disabled to function in everyday life without assistance, but was actually working regularly outside his home as a construction carpenter.
A home-care agency that allegedly submitted faked clock-in/clock-out records for employees who didn't actually provide any services.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division announced it is expanding its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force into Philadelphia. That means more federal prosecutors, investigators, and resources will work on identifying health-care fraud in eastern Pennsylvania.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald announces charges against 19 defendants for fraudulent home health care schemes that targeted Pennsylvania’s Medicaid fraud program and resulted in OVER $4 MILLION OF FRAUD⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AYXB7kuVFG
— National Fraud Enforcement Division (@DOJFraudDiv) August 4, 2026

“Home care funding exists to assist America’s elderly and most vulnerable — not to fund schemes in which aides claim be providing care while incarcerated or vacationing in Miami and Saudi Arabia,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s charges and the expansion of our Northeast Strike Force into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania send a clear message to fraudsters in the region: the Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue you and use all available tools to protect Medicaid and the programs everyday Americans rely on.”

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, heralded the move by the Fraud Division, saying, “Medicaid fraud robs hardworking taxpayers, deprives vulnerable Americans of the care they need, and undermines the public trust that sustains our social safety net."

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Oz continued, "CMS will continue partnering with law enforcement to shut down these scams while establishing new anti-fraud safeguards that flag criminal activity before the money ever leaves the building. This Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to protecting Medicaid—ensuring the program serves the Americans who depend on it, not criminals seeking to exploit it.”

The Justice Department created its new Fraud Division on April 7 to investigate and prosecute those who defraud the American people. Its work supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government-wide initiative led by Vice President JD Vance to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.

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