- 2 days ago
Dr. Oz and DOJ officials held a press briefing on Monday to announce a healthcare fraud takedown.
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00:00Morning everyone. My name is Matthew Gagliotti and I'm the head of the Justice Department's
00:05Criminal Division. Thank you all for joining us today as we announce the largest coordinated
00:11health care fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice. Today marks a decisive
00:17moment in our fight to protect American taxpayers from fraudsters and to defend the integrity of
00:25America's health care system. We are announcing today charges against 324 defendants for their
00:35alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $14.6 billion
00:43in false claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid and other health care programs. In a takedown this
00:51large I can't possibly describe all of the work that went into dismantling each scheme but there
00:57are four key points that bear emphasizing. First let me be clear about what these health care fraud
01:05schemes mean for every hard-working American family. These criminals didn't just steal someone else's
01:12money. They stole from you. Every fraudulent claim, every fake billing, every kickback scheme represents
01:21money taken directly from the pockets of American taxpayers who fund these essential programs through
01:28their hard work and sacrifice. And when criminals defraud these programs, they're not just committing
01:35theft. They're driving up our national deficit and threatening the long-term viability of health care for
01:42seniors, disabled Americans and our most vulnerable citizens. This enforcement action involves the seizure of cash as well as
01:51luxury vehicles and properties, returning real money to American taxpayers and to our government health care
01:58programs. Second, we are seeing a disturbing trend of transnational criminal organizations engaging in
02:06increasingly sophisticated and complex criminal schemes that defraud the American health care system.
02:13As part of this takedown, we've identified and charged defendants operating from Russia, Eastern Europe,
02:19Pakistan, and other foreign countries. These individuals have infiltrated our health care system
02:26to steal American taxpayer dollars. As just one example, we dismantled a scheme involving a sophisticated
02:33operation run from Russia and Eastern Europe that strategically bought dozens of medical supply
02:40companies in the United States and submitted more than $10 billion in fraudulent health care claims to Medicare.
02:47To make matters worse, these perpetrators used the stolen identities of more than 1 million Americans
02:55spanning all 50 states to perpetrate this scheme and submit these false claims.
03:03But I'm pleased to report that federal agents intercepted and arrested key members of that organization at
03:09U.S. airports and the U.S.-Mexico border, cutting off their intended escape routes.
03:15The days of transnational criminal organizations using the American health care programs as their personal piggy bank are over.
03:27Third, this takedown resulted in criminal charges against 74 defendants, including medical professionals,
03:33who fueled America's deadly opioid crisis for personal profit. These are not isolated instances of poor judgment.
03:43These are calculated schemes designed to exploit Americans struggling with addiction while enriching the
03:49very people who were duty bound to help them heal. We charged pill mill operators who prescribed unnecessary opioids.
03:57We dismantled networks of corrupt pharmacies that existed solely to distribute drugs to addicts and dealers,
04:05feeding the addiction crisis that has devastated so many American communities.
04:11This is not health care. It is a staggering breach of trust. And under my leadership, the criminal division
04:18will prosecute these criminals as aggressively as we would any drug dealer, because that's exactly what they are.
04:25Fourth, many of the defendants charged as part of this takedown specifically targeted our most vulnerable citizens,
04:35elderly Americans in nursing homes, individuals with disabilities, those battling serious illnesses and more.
04:45For example, our prosecutors charged seven defendants, including five medical professionals, in connection with
04:51approximately $1 billion in fraudulent claims to Medicare and other health care benefit programs for
04:59performing medically unnecessary skin grass on dying patients as they were seeking to spend their final days
05:06with dignity and peace. That conduct is exactly as callous and disturbing as it sounds.
05:14Patients and their families trusted these providers with their lives. Instead of receiving care,
05:23they became victims of elaborate criminal schemes.
05:30Today's takedown marks a historic day. In addition to the tireless work of our fraud sections health care fraud
05:36unit, this extraordinary effort would not have been possible without the law enforcement agencies with me here today.
05:42Health and Human Services centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug
05:50Enforcement Administration. And of course, countless partners across the federal state and local law enforcement
05:57community and dozens of United States Attorney's offices. Thank you to all who made today possible.
06:03Now, despite these historic achievements, we aren't resting on our laurels. We're making advancements to
06:11stay ahead of their criminals and their illicit schemes. That is why today I'm also announcing that we are
06:16working with our partners at FBI, HHS OIG and other federal agencies to create a health care data fusion center to
06:26revolutionize how we detect, investigate and prosecute health care fraud. These efforts will be led by the
06:33criminal division, specifically the fraud section's health care fraud unit and comprised of data
06:38specialists from the unit's data analytics team. The fusion center will break down information silos
06:44using coordinated data analysis to enable our investigative teams to quickly identify and dismantle
06:51emerging fraud schemes, preventing money from going out the door.
06:54Today's enforcement action represents the largest health care fraud takedown in American history.
07:04But it's not the end. It's the beginning of a new era of aggressive prosecution and data-driven
07:11prevention. Thank you. I'll now turn it over to Acting Inspector General Juliet T. Hodgkins, Department of Health and
07:18Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.
07:30Good morning and thank you to Mr. Gagliotti and to the Department of Justice for inviting me to join
07:36here today. Combining fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid and other HHS programs is our
07:43mission at the Office of Inspector General. I am proud to be here today representing the tremendous
07:50work of our criminal investigations team in this takedown. This unprecedented healthcare fraud takedown
07:57is more than twice as large as any past one. Having stopped national and global fraud schemes alleged to
08:05have resulted in over 14 billion dollars in intended losses. The results announced today were only possible
08:13though through a strong partnership of federal and state agencies. By working shoulder to shoulder,
08:20we harness the best information, tools and expertise to find criminals no matter where they hide and no
08:28matter how they try to disguise their crimes. I would especially like to thank DOJ, CMS, FBI, DEA and our other
08:39federal partners that are here today. I would also like to acknowledge the state Medicaid fraud control
08:46units as well as the strong public-private partnership between government and private insurers to combat
08:54health fraud. Simply put, criminals go where the money is. Through information sharing, government and the
09:01private sector help each other to more efficiently stop fraud. And under our watch, criminals will not be
09:09allowed to enrich themselves with dollars meant to improve the health of Americans. One massive fraud
09:16scheme that was charged as a part of today's takedown involved multiple durable medical equipment
09:22companies that build Medicare over $10 billion for equipment that patients did not need or that they never
09:29received. The good news for the American people is that the alleged criminals in this scheme never got their
09:36hands on most of their hands on most of that Medicare and Medicaid money that they tried to steal. Instead,
09:42the government coordinated to use our collective tools and authorities to protect taxpayer dollars.
09:49This takedown also demonstrates, though, our commitment to shield Americans from harm.
09:55The actions taken by our partnership stopped individuals and entities that were alleged to have used
10:01stolen medical identities from over 1 million patients to submit false claims. They preyed on patients who needed
10:13addiction services, billing for treatment that was never received. They illegally diverted prescription
10:22opioids, millions of pills that continue to fuel the devastating opioid epidemic.
10:29But as fraud schemes span borders and jurisdictions, OIG and our partners respond quickly and effectively.
10:39And as fraud schemes increasingly exploit technology, we use cutting-edge investigative methods to detect fraud,
10:47prevent losses, and protect patients. Before I close today, I must take a moment to applaud the exceptional work
10:55of the dedicated OIG professionals that participated in this takedown. Every day, these outstanding law enforcement
11:04professionals do the dangerous work of holding criminals accountable. Thank you for your service to the American people.
11:13Thank you so much, and I will turn the microphone over now to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the CMS Administrator.
11:19Let me put on my clinician's hat first, because it is my culture, my story. I'm a heart surgeon.
11:29And when I hear about this fraud, I think about patients who have trusted us, people who are at their most
11:35vulnerable time looking for the protection of our services. And too often, these criminal entities have
11:42tried to pierce that trust. When you walk into the Health and Human Services Building not far from here,
11:47there's a quote from Hubert Humphrey from the building is named, and it says,
11:51it is the moral obligation of government, that's what we're doing here today, it's the moral obligation
11:56of government to protect those who are at the dawn of their life, our children, those at the twilight of
12:02their life, our seniors, and those living in the shadows, folks who are having trouble like the substance
12:08use disorder mentioned a second ago by Juliette. I want to applaud all the agencies that collaborated today,
12:15because when President Trump signed the executive order on fraud, waste, and abuse, I pledged to crush
12:22this reality. This is exactly what he had in mind. At Health and Human Services, under leadership of
12:27Secretary Kennedy, we have strived to break down barriers and silos in every way possible. What you're
12:31witnessing on stage today is exactly that. The American government at its best, making sure all of
12:36us work together for the same common purpose, in this case, especially expressly to protect those
12:42who are most vulnerable. Because all great societies are judged by how they take care
12:46of those who are vulnerable, and we are great people. We will do that. So to the OIG, the DOJ,
12:51who's hosting us the FBI, DEA, and other agencies that are engaged. And let me ask Kim, Kim, stand in
12:58the back. Kim Grant runs Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Administrator at CMS. She runs the fraud unit,
13:04and I'll speak about some of the work she and her team have been doing in my comments today. It is,
13:09and you'll hear this said by all of us, and we should, the largest, the largest Department of
13:13Justice healthcare fraud takedown in history. The fact that it's impossible that you could have $15
13:19billion to play in this endeavor is shameful. But that's how we're being attacked now. And it's
13:25not done by small-time operators. As you're hearing about and you will read about, these are organized
13:30syndicates who are designing to hurt America. And why do they hurt our healthcare system? Well, CMS is
13:38probably the largest target of all, responsible for about $1.7 trillion of disbursements. So it's
13:44a big target on our side. And they can pierce the veil of protection by just getting identifier numbers
13:50from our seniors or Medicaid recipients or others, and thus use those tools, use you, the American
13:55people, to hurt us. What we're doing today is changing the paradigm, not just going after bad guys
14:02and putting them behind bars, but actually getting ahead of these schemes so the money never leaves
14:06our bank account. Because by the time we find out that these criminals have stolen and the money has
14:11left the building, it's already offshore somewhere in some foreign countries' vaults where foreign
14:16leaders are rejoicing in the fact they took advantage of the American people. That's why we use the word
14:21crushing fraud, waste, and abuse. Because this is not just a nice thing to do in an accounting
14:26pickup that we can claw back money. It doesn't happen that easily. And this is a modern era.
14:31There are modern tools being used to attack us, and we need even more modern ways, including AI,
14:37which I'll speak about in a second, to take them down. The oversight has to be unrelenting.
14:41We can never let our guard down. While we're sitting in here right now, there's hundreds of thousands,
14:46probably millions of efforts being made to hack into CMS and our system. And we have systems designed
14:52to prevent that, to make sure the people who need us the most will find that we're there to protect
14:56them. The CMS fraud war room that I want to announce that Kim is going to lead is an effort
15:01and an example of this. It's prevented most of the fraudulent efforts to take money out of our agency.
15:08So most of the money never left the door. So most of the money was never stolen, even though
15:12we know you were trying to do it. When I speak to you, when the president signed that executive order,
15:17he put a bunch of sheriffs, new sheriffs in town. And that's what you're looking at on stage today,
15:21and many others like us who are not going to tolerate this anymore. We're stopping stolen
15:25taxpayer money from leaving the door, stopping it in its tracks. Just when I was leaving the room today,
15:31the offices today, I was hearing about over $100 million that we've stopped from leaving the agency
15:38just in the past few weeks. There are 27 providers that are under active prepayment
15:44review, which means we're not going to pay their money until we verify that they're actually doing
15:49their jobs correctly. There's examples from telemed schemes in Florida with clinics billing
15:54for activities that they're not really, we don't believe providing. There's a cardiology provider,
16:00please help me understand this, who's providing cardiology services in person in Georgia and Nevada
16:06at the same time on the same day. Unless teleporting is being made feasible, not possible, but it happens.
16:12The audacity to think you could get away with this highlights the fact that folks believe they could
16:17have taken advantage of the agency in the past. We're going to make sure it doesn't happen again.
16:21There are mental health clinics, listen carefully, mental health clinics providing skin substitute
16:28placement on their patients. Again, you're dealing with ulcers in a mental health clinic. These
16:33services are provided by an anesthesiologist. Improbable. Money's not leaving the building. You're
16:38going to have to prove to me that there's a clinical benefit of a psychiatrist telling an
16:42anesthesiologist to put a surgical graft on a patient. It's not going to happen. We need your
16:48help. That's my big plea. We need your help, the American people. Why? Over half of the whistleblower
16:55tips that we get are for healthcare fraud and over health of the fraud against our government is in
17:00healthcare. So we need your help, both to protect your own important information. Don't give it away,
17:06because con artists come to your door and try to get it, but give us tips. You're going to hear all
17:10of us share opportunities that we have, but it only happens in healthcare because we know we have allies,
17:16the American people. We provide care to 68 million Medicare beneficiaries, 80 million Americans are on
17:23Medicaid or CHIP. There's another 20 million on the exchanges. There are a lot of people that will
17:27come to help us. So write this down, 1-800-HHS-TIPS. 1-800-HHS-TIPS. We have a URL, obviously, if you go to our
17:36website as well. And I'll leave you with one last thought. In addition to the massive fraud,
17:40especially from foreign entities trying to invade America using their financial tools and criminal
17:46mindsets, we also have 25 percent of all of our money being spent probably subject to abuse.
17:53And that's not fraud. This is abuse and waste, money not being used wisely. We just launched a new
17:59model called WISER with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation under Abe Sutton that is looking at
18:05ways for us to identify inappropriate use of services, services that are wasteful and should
18:11not be offered to the American people because they could hurt them. And they're certainly not providing
18:15value for these wonderful Americans whose health is being taken advantage of to generate higher
18:21savings – higher revenue, rather, for providers. We're not going to tolerate it anymore. We're going
18:26to use data analytics, real-time monitoring, and unhesitating, unwavering pursuit of the law to make sure this
18:33happens. I want to thank my colleagues on the stage and their agencies for all the wonderful work you have done. God bless you.
18:46Good morning. Hello. My name is Christopher Delzotto, and I'm the Acting Deputy Assistant Director for the
18:53FBI's Criminal Investigative Division that handles healthcare fraud. I want to echo what our speakers have
18:59said already and thank everybody who made this takedown possible. Healthcare fraud is not a victimless crime.
19:07Every dollar stolen through deceitful billing or unnecessary procedures is a dollar taken away from
19:13patients who truly need care and taxpayers who fund these critical programs. Schemes, like those we're
19:22announcing today, drive medical costs up, strain federal healthcare budgets, and ultimately impact every
19:28American who relies on Medicare, Medicaid, and other public and private insurance programs.
19:36It's also not just about financial losses. It's about patients being exposed to unnecessary procedures,
19:44false diagnoses, and delayed care. That kind of exploitation isn't just unethical. It's dangerous and
19:53has no place in our healthcare system. We can't tackle healthcare fraud of this scale alone. It requires a
20:01united response. That's why strong partnerships are at the heart of what we do. This initiative is part of a
20:09strategic and coordinated effort with the Department of Justice's Healthcare Fraud Unit of the Criminal
20:15Division's Fraud Section, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration,
20:22and other federal and state agency partners. From investigators on the ground to analysts tracking intel,
20:30forensic accountants tracing financial trails, and prosecutors building cases that will hold up in
20:37court every agency involved plays a critical role. By leveraging these critical partnerships, it allows
20:45all of us to share intelligence in real time and connect the dots across multiple jurisdictions,
20:52not only in the United States, but around the globe. This initiative brought together expertise from
20:59FBI headquarters and 28 field offices across the country working side by side to identify the scope of
21:07the fraud and coordinate arrests. From fraudulent billing, COVID relief abuse, and money laundering to
21:14prescription drug diversion, these criminal networks are engaged in complex schemes that operate on a
21:21global scale, undermining our healthcare systems and fueling broader transnational criminal activity.
21:30The investigations announced today speak volumes about our resolve to root out corruption in the healthcare
21:36system and hold accountable those who think they can defraud federal programs without being caught.
21:43I want to talk about the numbers for a minute because they're not just large, they're impactful.
21:49They reflect the scale of the fraud, the reach these criminal networks have, and the urgent need to protect our healthcare system.
21:57324 defendants were charged criminally, including 96 licensed medical professionals,
22:0725 of whom were doctors and charged for their alleged participation in various fraud schemes targeting government
22:16and private health insurance programs. Over $14 billion in alleged fraud was billed to Medicare,
22:23Medicaid, and private insurance programs. Unfortunately, those numbers represent Americans impacted in every state. Behind the
22:33numbers is a web of criminal activity that stretches far beyond our borders.
22:39The FBI's Operation Gold Rush resulted in the largest amount of loss charged in a healthcare fraud case
22:46brought by the Department of Justice. More than 20 members of a criminal organization based in Russia and elsewhere
22:54were charged for their roles in a $10 billion Medicare fraud and international money laundering conspiracy.
23:01The organization allegedly used a network of foreign straw owners, including individuals sent into the United States from abroad,
23:10who who, acting at the direction of others overseas, strategically bought dozens of medical supply companies
23:17that were enrolled in Medicare and located across the United States.
23:23After the organization gained control of the companies, it rapidly submitted billions of dollars in fraudulent
23:30healthcare claims that were never ordered by doctors, requested by patients, or provided to anyone.
23:37In doing so, the defendants are alleged to have exploited the identities of over 1 million Americans
23:43spanning all 50 states by using their confidential medical information to submit the fraudulent claims.
23:51This not only illustrates just how global these schemes have become, but how advanced and coordinated they are becoming.
23:59In Atlanta, five people, including three medical professionals,
24:04were charged with manipulating the price of skin grafts and forcing services on patients that were not medically necessary.
24:12In this case, Medicare was scammed out of $760 million.
24:18And in Phoenix, we opened an investigation after receiving a complaint about suspicious billing to Arizona Medicaid.
24:26It led us to a network of sober living homes that were supposed to be helping
24:30those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, many of whom were Native Americans.
24:36Instead, this was a massive fraud scheme that billed for services that were never actually provided.
24:44The sober living home home facilities owned by ProMD received more than $560 million for services that were not provided.
24:54Those are just some of the investigations that were part of this initiative.
24:57As these threats grow more complex and transnational, the FBI and our law enforcement partners must continue to evolve,
25:06stay ahead of the curve, and meet the challenges with equal force.
25:12Reducing federal health care spending, stopping fraud and waste, and controlling costs isn't just about budgets.
25:20It's about protecting the integrity of programs millions of Americans depend on.
25:26And we will not tolerate those who put personal gain above patient care.
25:32Remember, you can always report suspected health care fraud to your local FBI office or call 1-800-FBI-TIPS.
25:41And we count on you reporting those tips.
25:44Your vigilance plays a critical role in helping us uncover fraud, protect patients, and hold offenders accountable.
25:53Next, I'll turn it over to the DEA.
25:55Good morning, and thank you for being here.
26:02Today's announcement represents a landmark victory in the fight against health care fraud and the illegal diversion of controlled substances.
26:09The drug enforcement, alongside our partners of the Department of Justice, FBI, HHS, OIG, CMS, and our state and local law enforcement agencies,
26:21took part in this unprecedented national takedown that uncovered more than $14.6 billion in intended health care fraud,
26:31as well as over 15 million controlled substance pills being diverted, a staggering abuse of public trust and public funds.
26:43Similar to DEA's core mission of protecting the health and safety of American communities,
26:50Americans also put their trust and their lives into the hands of our medical and health care professionals.
26:57And what we saw in these cases was the very opposite of that mission.
27:05Pills ended up on our streets.
27:07Pharmacists, doctors, and distributors fueled addiction, endangered lives, and illegally profited off the backs of Americans.
27:17DEA's investigations covered doctors, pharmacists, pharmacy owners responsible for the diversion of thousands of controlled substance pills like oxycodone and hydrocodone.
27:32These pills ended up on our streets, in the hands of dealers, and in the path of addiction.
27:40In other cases, DEA helped investigate providers who stole opioids intended for their own patients,
27:49diverted fentanyl from hospitals, and exploited vulnerable individuals seeking treatment.
27:56And we didn't stop there.
27:58In the last six months, DEA has charged 93 administrative cases seeking the revocation of pharmacies, medical practitioners,
28:09and distributors' authority to handle and or prescribe controlled substances.
28:15This sends a clear message.
28:18If you use your license to harm the public, you will lose it.
28:22This takedown also shows how closely drug trafficking and healthcare fraud are intertwined.
28:31Whether it's criminal enterprises billing for medically unnecessary opioids,
28:36or laundering the proceeds from sham clinics and pill mills,
28:40DEA is targeting the financial, pharmaceutical, and criminal infrastructure behind the epidemic.
28:46As we move forward, DEA will continue to collaborate across government agencies.
28:53Together, we are building a smarter, data-driven enforcement model, harnessing the power of
29:00artificial intelligence and forensic analytics to stay ahead of criminal actors.
29:06To those who think they can hide behind white coats or offshore bank accounts, think again.
29:15DEA remains relentless in our pursuit of those who poison our communities and exploit our healthcare system,
29:23all to line their own pockets with profit from others' pain.
29:27I, too, want to take a moment to recognize the remarkable work, commitment to healthcare and safety,
29:34and dedication of our DEA investigators and all our partners across the nation.
29:40Today's takedown is a milestone, but it's not the end.
29:45It's the foundation of what comes next.
29:49Mr. Gagliotti, you mentioned in your remarks that this involved more than a million stolen identities.
30:02Any idea of how those identities were stolen, what breach they were part of?
30:06MR. I can't identify the specific breach they're part of, but they are on the dark web,
30:11among other places.
30:12They're internet-based identities that are put up for sale.
30:16And, frankly, what would happen in some of these cases is individuals who were not even
30:21seeing a particular doctor for any sort of specific care often got a medical device at their home
30:27and reported that.
30:28And so their device may have been somewhere on the internet, either from one breach or multiple
30:32different breaches, and these are collected by the organizations who then would send devices
30:38to individuals who never requested them.
30:39MR. Can I offer this?
30:41MR. This is a very important point for the American public to hear.
30:44They knock on doors, and they'll tell you that they've got something for free,
30:49and then they get your number, and they're off to the races.
30:52So this is why folks should guard their numbers, especially their Medicare number, very carefully.
30:56Question for Dr. Oz, actually.
31:00When you talk to anti-fraud experts in the private sector, they say that one of the reasons
31:04these transnational groups are targeting government programs to such a massive degree is
31:08because it's been relatively easy for them to do that using the stolen identities that you mentioned.
31:13Because government agencies don't use the same kind of technology that Citibank does,
31:17and Amazon does, and Walmart does. It sounded like, from what you were saying earlier,
31:20you're working to change that. You mentioned AI. Can you talk a little more about that?
31:24MR. The WISER model, which is a CMMI model, much of the innovation in
31:29Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services comes specifically from the statutorily created entity
31:33of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, as the name would state, have already launched a model.
31:38It is designed to use artificial intelligence and other more cutting-edge tools to address the fraud
31:43that exists in healthcare. And I have just two points on this I think are worth remembering.
31:47The reason that AI works so well in the financial systems is because bank managers aren't fraudsters,
31:52usually. So they're not very good at fraud, whereas fraudsters are really good at fraud. So you're asking
31:56people who don't study fraud, like in CMS, for example, Amy Brandt does not spend her whole life
32:01thinking how to defraud people. So she doesn't think the way a criminal mind might work. So we
32:05actually benefit tremendously, as has been the case in banking and other transactional businesses,
32:10if we can bring these newer technologies to bear. The other reality of healthcare is that we don't
32:15really penalize people for doing bad things. When they steal money, and they steal the health of
32:19Americans when they steal your money. Because they're taking away resources that are vitally
32:23needed to take care of vulnerable Americans. When they do that, I think, not just criminal, but
32:28morally reprehensible activity, it's often a slap on the wrist. And that's an area where I think we
32:33should get more serious. Many of these fraudsters were able to get away, literally, outside the country.
32:38But even the ones we catch sometimes have remarkably impactful opportunities to escape real justice.
32:45And we have to change that as well. We also have to be serious. We've got to send a message.
32:49That's what today's press conference is about. And I'd love if you could echo that.
32:52We are taking this crisis to a whole different level. This is not going to be the same
32:59approach to healthcare fraud detection, as has been evident, certainly for the last few years.
33:08You mentioned that the intended loss was north of 14 billion. Can you say what the actual loss was?
33:142.9 billion.
33:15I wanted to follow up about the rise in these foreign actors that you're seeing participate in
33:22these schemes. How can you address a little bit more about how the U.S. can combat that when so
33:29many of these criminals are beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement?
33:32Yeah, it's a great question. Look, the first thing we need to do is prevent more of the money from
33:35going out in the first place. Frankly, 2.9 billion actual loss on 14.6 billion intended loss is pretty
33:42good. It's less than a sixth. And we were able to prevent that by getting ahead of schemes early.
33:46So the best thing that you know, the best antidote here is prevention rather than enforcement.
33:53Second, we're able to capture people who were coming into the United States on temporary basis,
33:59some of these straw owners and people who own these companies. Then we need to get serious sentences
34:03on these individuals to send that deterrent message. And the third thing we need to do,
34:07and which we are doing, is we're fighting for the extradition of many of these individuals.
34:11We hope to see them face justice in an American courtroom. So what we need to do, and the goal
34:16of all these taken together, is to make sure that people don't view this as some sort of calculated risk.
34:21It won't pay off, essentially, if we prevent, if we enforce, and if we get significant sentences.
34:29On the transnational element to this, do you, are these people that are just mostly
34:35looking to make as much money as they can? Or is there a national security risk, too,
34:38to having people from, you know, these transnational groups involved in this fraud?
34:42Yeah, so astute question. So basically, in some
34:45instances, we see it's a sheer fraud scheme for money and related purposes, particularly at the
34:51lower levels of the pyramids. But we do have individuals who we have concerns about other
34:56activity they're connected to. Can you say anything more about that? No.
35:00One of these cases involved defense overseas using artificial intelligence to
35:08basically create recordings of Medicare beneficiaries. Can you talk about how this AI explosion
35:15and the kind of confluence of fraud and how you're kind of marshalling resources to attack that? And
35:21separately, Dr. Oz, you mentioned that this is largely about messaging and making clear that this
35:26kind of fraud is unacceptable. I wonder, does it undermine that message when President Trump
35:31recently pardoned Lawrence Duran, who was convicted in what was, at the time, the largest Medicare fraud
35:38scam in history? Does it undermine that at all? I'll start with your first question. So,
35:45yes, we are concerned about the criminals' advancements in technology here, obviously. And it's
35:50something that contributed to some of the schemes we saw here. So let me say a little bit more about a word
35:55that we're doing on the data fusion center that I think is significant. Basically, a lot of the
36:00information that is relevant to stopping these schemes is stored across different government agencies.
36:05And what the data fusion center intends to do is put it all in one place so that we can recognize these
36:10patterns earlier on. So if you see, if you're looking at a graph for some particular kind of back
36:15brace, for example, and you see a hockey stick spike in the sales of these in some particular location in
36:22Miami, say, that's a very powerful lead for us to go after and to try to root out the problem before
36:29it grows. So, yes, the criminal schemes are getting more complex. And that's why we need to advance with
36:35it. And the data fusion center is a big part of that. And breaking down information silos across
36:41agencies is another significant part of it. The president has been very clear that he wants this
36:47fraud, waste and abuse crush. That's the word that's used. And I'll give you one concrete example
36:51of how he has done that. Doge is not just about cutting waste and fraud within government. Doge has
36:56been actively involved at CMS in helping us address places where fraud is existing that we never thought
37:02to look. And that's the kind of opportunity it's created when you actually break silos down, which is
37:06probably the single biggest opportunity that this administration has created. Thank you.
37:12All right. Thanks, everybody.
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