Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/706971
ByKelliKennedy The Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. Three people have been charged in an unprece- dented $1 billion health care fraud scam, accused of us- ingdozensofMiaminursing homes to bilk the taxpayer- funded Medicare and Med- icaid programs, according to an indictment unsealed Friday. "This is the largest single criminal health care fraud case ever brought against individuals by the Depart- ment of Justice," Assistant Attorney General of the Jus- tice Department's Criminal Division Leslie Caldwell an- nounced in a statement. Authorities said Philip Es- formes, who ran 30 nursing homesandassistedlivingfa- cilities, joined with two con- spirators and a complex net- work of corrupt doctors and hospitals to refer thousands of patients to their facilities even though the patients did not qualify for the services. Some of the treatments were harmful, they added. All of this was done with little regard for the patients, Caldwell said. "Among the thousands of people cycled through the fraudulent network were, for example, drug addicts who were allegedly pre- scribed opioids — including OxyContin and Fentanyl — and other narcotics in order to entice them to stay in fa- cilities where they didn't be- long," she said at a news con- ference. Authorities said Es- formes, along with Odette Barcha and Arnaldo Car- mouze, also received kick- backs for steering patients to other community health care providers, includ- ing mental health centers. When a patient reached their Medicare-imposed length of stay limit at one facility, conspirators simply moved patients to a differ- ent facility, Caldwell said, calling it a "ruthlessly effi- cient" scam. Authoritiesallege incourt documents that those facil- ities also billed Medicare and Medicaid for unneces- sary services and that kick- backswereoftenpaidincash ordisguisedascharitabledo- nations. Esformes'twootherdefen- dantswereidentifiedincourt documents as a hospital ad- ministratorandaphysicians' assistant.The three were chargedFridaywithconspir- acy,obstruction,moneylaun- deringandhealthcarefraud, the indictment said. It's un- clear if they have retained lawyers. Emails sent to Es- formes' lawyers from previ- ous cases were not immedi- ately returned Friday. According to court doc- uments, Esformes paid $15.4 million in 2006 to re- solve civil federal health care fraud claims for similar charges. But authorities said Esformes was able to con- tinue with alleged crimes after that date through a so- phisticated money launder- ing scheme. Miami has long been ground zero for Medi- care fraud, a crime that has morphed into complex schemesovertheyears,mov- ing from medical equipment and HIV infusion fraud to home health care, as crim- inals try to stay one step ahead of authorities. Fordecades,Medicarehas operated under a pay-and- chase system, paying pro- viders first and investigat- ing suspicious claims later. The system worked when the agency was paying hos- pitals and institutions that couldn't close up shop and fleethecountryifthey'dbeen overpaid.Inrecentyearsand in this case, authorities said, they used data technology to flag suspicious claims before they were paid. INDICTMENT Authorities: $1 billion Medicare fraud nursing home scam, 3 charged By Darlene Superville and Bradley Klapper The Associated Press WASHINGTON President Barack Obama fiercely re- jected Donald Trump's de- piction of an America in crisis on Friday, arguing that violent crime and il- legal immigration have plunged under his leader- ship to their lowest rates in decades. Looking to November's election, Obama said, "We're not going to make good decisions based on fears that don't have a ba- sis in fact." At a news conference alongside Mexico's pres- ident, Obama sought to undermine two pillars of Trump's speech Thursday night in which he accepted the Republican presiden- tial nomination. Trump said that if he is elected, "safety will be restored" at home and abroad. "This idea that Amer- ican is somehow on the verge of collapse, this vi- sion of violence and chaos everywhere, doesn't really jibe with the experience of most people," Obama told journalists. The violent crime rate, he said, has been lower during his presidency than any time in the last three or four decades. While he acknowledged an uptick in murders in some U.S. cit- ies this year, Obama said the violent crime rate to- day is still far lower than when Ronald Reagan was president in the 1980s. The violent crime rate has been on a long-term decline, receding to 366 per 100,000 people in 2014. It was 758 per 100,000 in the peak year of 1991. Obama used the same marker for immigration, describing today's rate of illegal border crossing as only a third of what it was during the Reagan admin- istration, and lower than at any time since. About 331,000 people were appre- hended crossing the Mex- ican border illegally last year; there were 1.6 mil- lion arrests in 1986. Speaking after an eve- ning in which Trump laid out his case to be the next commander in chief, Obama grimaced notice- ably when a reporter sug- gested the billionaire busi- nessman's message appeals to working-class Ameri- cans. "It's not really clear how appealing it was," Obama said. Obama said he will let the U.S. public decide if the vision of Republicans or Democrats for the nation is more persuasive. Hill- ary Clinton, Obama's 2008 primary rival and then his secretary of state, will re- ceive the Democratic nom- ination next week. She is expected to announce her running mate soon. Still, Obama sought to paint a contrast between Trump's picture of rising crime and uncontrolled borders and the brighter reality he sees. He said he hopes people walked outside the next day to chirping birds and sunny skies, essentially accusing the Republican candidate of fearmonger- ing and distracting from the "real issues" of jobs, in- equality, wage stagnation, education, the budget and the tax system. Mexican President En- rique Pena Nieto, for his part, tried to exercise re- straint, saying he is ready to work with whoever pre- vails in the presidential election. Previously, he had likened Trump's language to that of Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini, though he said such comparisons were taken out of context. Trump on Thursday re- peated his assertion that he would build a wall across the U.S.-Mexican border "to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our commu- nities." At one point, the crowd chanted, "Build that wall." POLITICS Obama rejects Trump depiction of US in crisis SUSANWALSH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama, le , and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, right, arrive for a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Friday. By John Rogers The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Seven Ma- yan ancient artifacts will be heading to Guatemala after a representative of a longtime antiquities col- lector who was unsure of their origin turned them over to the FBI, which de- termined they were taken from the country illegally decades ago. FBI officials said Friday that the pieces are more than a thousand years old. FBI Special Agent Eliza- beth Rivas says they were purchased innocently in the United States in the 1970s by a collector un- aware that the party sell- ing them dealt in looted an- tiquities. A few months ago, a rep- resentative of the collector, who has since died, con- tacted the FBI saying that he couldn't establish prov- enance for the pieces. With the help of experts, the FBI was able to trace them to sites in Guatemala. Guatemala plans to dis- play them in a museum. TAKEN DECADES AGO Mayan artifacts to be returned by US to Guatemala SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B