We stated in our immediately preceding blog post that, “In recent years, and with progressively growing momentum, media outlets are emphasizing white collar crime.”
W also emphasized in our July 14 post entry that criminal investigators — in both the federal and state realms — “are devoting substantial amounts of time, energy and money to the task of identifying and making notable examples of criminal defendants in such cases.”
It certainly didn’t take long in the wake of those comments for their central points to be hammered home in both a timely and relevant way. In fact, our cited post above was barely completed before major media outlets across the country were prominently relating the details of what is being described as the “largest health care fraud takedown operation in American history.”
Those words came courtesy of Jeff Sessions, the U.S. Attorney General, late last week in the immediate wake of the arrest and criminal charging of several hundred people — specifically, 412 individuals, with many of those defendants being doctors from across the country — in a truly massive health care fraud crackdown.
Sessions and others closely involved with the nationwide sting clearly sought to convey its dimensions and ramifications in a high-profile way. Among other things, they pointed to what they say were “false billings” totaling approximately $1.3 billion. They stressed the scores of defendants now facing dire criminal outcomes for their alleged involvement of unlawfully selling and distributing powerful opioid medications.
And they pointedly underscored the probe’s sheer clout, noting that 1,000-plus state and federal law enforcers worked in concert to gather evidence and ultimately make arrests.
