FDA impersonators extortion scam

The FDA warned the public last month about an ongoing extortion scam run by FDA impersonators. Consumers should continue to be on the lookout for the scam as it continues to thrive.

The scammers call the victims and state they are FDA special agents or law enforcement officials. (In a lot of cases, the victims have previously purchased drugs over the phone or the Internet.) The scammers tell the victims that buying drugs over the phone or internet is illegal and that lawful actions will be taken against the victim unless they pay a “fine.” The “fines” range from $100-$250,000 and must be paid via wire transfer. If the victim does not agree to pay the fine, they are threatened with arrest, property searches, or physical harm.

The scammers not only illegally impersonate the FDA, but they also continually change the phone number they call from in order to appear as though they are here in the United States.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus ( D-Mont. ) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley ( R-Iowa ) provided recent findings from their ongoing inquiry into diabetes drug Avandia to the Food & Drug Administration ( FDA ) on Monday. The Finance Committee inquiry uncovered documents suggesting that GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Avandia, failed to publish studies that found serious health risks associated with Avandia in a timely manner and actively promoted the drug despite the known safety concerns.

“ Information is the most important tool the FDA has to protect American consumers, and the documents we uncovered in our investigation will help arm the FDA with the best information possible as it evaluates Avandia’s safety, ” Baucus said. “ Patients and doctors have a right to know the risks of the medicines they use and prescribe, and drug companies have a responsibility to release data regarding safety concerns about their products. We will continue working with the FDA on Avandia to ensure patients and doctors have the information they need to make safe, informed decisions about their medications. ”

Read More >>>> http://finance.senate.gov/newsroom/chairman/release/?id=bcf5aef6-9bc5-45ca-9cab-aadf5df135fa

The phone call was terrifying–a child protection services worker accused Anndorie Sachs of giving birth to a child that had tested positive for methamphetamine.

” Panic, absolute panic, ” Sachs said.

And then, confusion. Sachs hadn’t given birth in more than two years. After investigating the phone call, the Salt Lake City mother of four realized she had been the victim of medical identity theft. Someone gave birth using Sachs’ name and her medical insurance to pay for it.

Authorities say that as Americans continue to struggle to pay their bills, more sophisticated thieves are turning to medical identity theft, making medical insurance fraud a top priority for government and private healthcare officials.

source: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/medical-identity-theft-protect-identity/story?id=10047398

Fraud Report – Schneider Medical Clinic, 68 dead by illegal prescription drugs & defrauding health insurance programs

A new federal indictment implicates a Kansas doctor and his wife in 9 additional patient deaths, bringing to 68 the number of fatal overdoses the government contends are linked to illegal prescription writing and a moneymaking conspiracy at their clinic.

Dr. Stephen Schneider, his wife Linda, who is a nurse, and unnamed others are accused of scheming to illegally dispense prescription drugs and defraud health insurance programs and patients through their ‘ Haysville clinic ‘. They also are accused of money laundering.

The couple are directly charged with contributing to 21 deaths.

U.S. District Judge Monti Belot told defense attorneys Friday to address any issues raised by the new indictment, unveiled Thurs. 4, 2010, and answer pending motions so a new trial date can be set. A trial had been scheduled for March 22.

Defense attorney Lawrence Williamson said the government is trying to hold the Schneiders criminally responsible for all patient deaths—including deaths ruled suicides and patients who died while the couple was imprisoned.

” They have essentially tried to blame Dr. Schneider for any death that has happened to a patient, ” Williamson said. ” We believe after we get a jury in to actually hear the facts surrounding the allegations we trust a jury is going to come to the right decision. ”

U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman Jim Cross declined to comment other than to say ” the government’s case will be explained in full during trial. ”

The indictment paints a chaotic picture of the Schneiders’ clinic, saying medical records often were missing or incomplete, patients were given prescription refills after previously overdosing on the same drugs and inexperienced physician assistants received little supervision.

Prosecutors also allege the doctor left blank pads of signed prescriptions and accuse his wife of forging her husband’s signature on some scripts.

The Schneiders were arrested in December 2007 on charges they unlawfully prescribed drugs, overbilled for medical services and committed money laundering. The government alleges that from 2002 through 2007, Schneider Medical Clinic patients who died of drug overdoses accounted for 18 percent of all such deaths in Sedgwick County and surrounding areas.

source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=10025431

Prosecutors Go After Medicare Fraud

Experts say a different type of identity theft is on the rise – one that could compromise both the victim’s credit and physical safety. Patients using someone else’s name, Social Security number or insurance card to get health care could risk their victim’s health if inaccurate information, such as blood type and medications, is recorded on the victim’s chart.” Officials at CoxHealth Hospital in Springfield, Mo., “say more and more of these patients walking through the doors are pretending to be someone else so they won’t have to pay for their own medical bills.”

“Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum … says that in nearly all the identity cases she’s seen, medical charts are changed, and that poses a major problem. ‘We’ve had people who, all of a sudden, their health care record has different blood types,’ Dixon says. ‘They have health care records with different genders and ages. Different medications.’ … Dixon says there’s no national standard for dealing with medical identity theft. It’s also hard to fix once the damage is done”.

The Miami Herald: “The fact that Yamill Ramos Perez, the owner of 2 Hialeah pharmacies, tried to dupe Medicare into paying him $20 million was hardly distinctive in Miami-Dade County, widely regarded as the nation’s healthcare fraud capital. What set Ramos apart was that he threatened the lives of a Medicare fraud investigator and a government official last year, after his pharmacies were put on ‘prepayment review’ because of suspicious billing to the federal entitlement program for the elderly and disabled. No Medicare-licensed operator anywhere in the country had ever done that before, according to authorities.” Ramos, who eventually pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and harrassing the officials, was sentenced on Tuesday to nine years in prison (Weaver, 3/3).

South Florida Business Journal: The government alleged that Ramos’ two businesses “received about $6 million in fraudulent reimbursements” (3/2).

If you have to go to the hospital MAKE SURE they have the correct info on you. GET A COPY OF YOUR MEDICAL RECORD FOR YOURSELF TO BRING IN before something happens, and Make sure it is correct.

Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself and the elderly family members you love against Medicare Fraud and Discount Prescription Scams.

Scams Tips #1. Check the list of “Medicare” approved prescription drug plans. The list of approved plans and other information about the program are available at www.medicare.gov and by calling toll-free, 1-800-633-4227 ( TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048 ) Medicare prescription drug plans, which will be offered by private companies and organizations, must meet specific federal standards and be approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ).

Scam Tips #2. If someone says you must join or you’ll lose your other Medicare benefits, it’s a scam. The Medicare prescription drug benefit is voluntary. It supplements your other Medicare benefits.

Scam Tips #3. If someone asks for payment before November 15, 2005, it’s a scam. The plans are allowed to begin advertising on October 1, 2005, but they’re not allowed to begin enrolling people and asking for payments until November 15, 2005, which is the beginning of the six month open enrollment period.

Scam Tips #4. Guard your personal information from identity thieves posing as sales people. Legitimate plans may ask for your Social Security number, but only when you are actually enrolling. And they may only ask for your credit card or bank account information if you are arranging to make automatic payments for your drug coverage from that account.

Scam Tips #5. If someone claims to be calling from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and asks for your bank account, credit card, or life insurance policy numbers, it’s a scam. SSA will never ask for that information, and the only time someone calling from the SSA will ask for your Social Security number is if you applied for low-income assistance and the number you put on your application wasn’t correct.

Scam Tips #6. Know the law on how Medicare prescription drug plans can be marketed. It’s illegal for companies or organizations marketing Medicare drug plans to come to your door uninvited or to send you unsolicited emails. Companies and organizations can call to promote their drug plans, but it’s illegal for them to sign people up during those calls. They must also obey telemarketing laws: it’s illegal to call before 8 am or after 9 pm; call people whose telephone numbers are on a state or the federal ” do not call ” registry (with some exceptions); or call people who have asked not to be called again. For more information about your telemarketing rights and to put your phone number on the federal ” do not call ” registry, go to www.donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222.

Scam Tips #7. Medicare prescription drug plans should come with no strings attached. Companies and organizations can offer modest prizes or gifts (but not cash) to promote their Medicare prescription drug plans – for instance, to people who attend a sales presentation – but it’s illegal to require anyone to join a drug plan in order to get a prize or gift.

Scam Tips #8. Don’t be fooled by sales materials that look like they’re from the government. Fraudsters often try to impress consumers with official looking sales materials that look like they’re from a government agency. Since it is private companies who are offering the plans, be skeptical about promotional materials claiming to come from the government.

Scam Tips #9. Don’t confuse other types of drug coverage with Medicare prescription drug plans. Only plans approved by Medicare can be marketed as Medicare prescription drug plans. Approved plans will have a seal on their materials with ” Medicare Rx ” in large letters and “Prescription Drug Coverage” in smaller letters under that. Check with Medicare to make sure that the plan you’re considering is approved.

Report suspected Medicare drug plan scams. Call the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, 1-800-447-8477, TTY 1-800-337-4950 (information about the Medicare drug plans is not available at these numbers). You can also report Medicare-related fraud by sending an email to HHSTips@oig.hhs.gov or writing to Inspector General, HHS, Attention: Hotline, 330 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201.