Federal Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Efforts Recover $4.1 Billion in FY 2011

The federal government’s healthcare fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recovered nearly $4.1 billion in taxpayer dollars in fiscal year (FY) 2011, states the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) annual Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program report. According to the report, this is the highest annual amount ever recovered from individuals and companies that attempted to defraud seniors and taxpayers or sought payments to which they were not entitled. Including strike force matters, federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against a total of 1,430 defendants for healthcare fraud-related crimes and convicted a total of 743 defendants during the year. HHS and OIG also continued their successes in civil healthcare fraud enforcement during FY 2011.