In 2021, a medicaid fraud outfit set up shop next to may friend's biz and copied my friend's biz details onto their own company docs, records, SM, etc. For most of 2 years, they billed medicaid for ~$100M dollars, for braces and other med gear.<p>Throughout that time, the recipients of the equipment (and related statements) called my friend's biz to angrily complain. Because Medicaid is administered by the state and my friend called state LEO, DA and other relevant agencies but none could be convinced to take an interest.<p>My friend next (reluctantly) reached out to the FBI and they were also uninterested. They next tried the HHS Office of Insp Gen and tried their elected representatives; each promised to look into the issue but never seemed to. Months of followup calls didn't yield any better outcome.<p>After this had gone on for a year my friend reached out to local TV news and they sent a reporter right away. The station reached out to the FBI who acted interested but wouldn't commit so sending someone. The station next called HHS OIG who was much more interested than when my friend called. OIG contacted the FBI who finally stepped up.<p>It still took another 4+ months for the FBI engage this outfit directly and roil up their operation. The owner was arrested for many millions of fraudulent billing.<p>Throughout that 4+ months: The FBI was often intrusive, pressuring my friend for details about their biz that were in no way related to the crime they were investigating. They constantly had to be pushed back into their lane.<p>Hence my friend's initial reluctance to call the feds. The FBI has a very long & very known history of finding crime wherever they want. They're generally a thing to be avoided.
This is from March 2024, and is a statement about fiscal year 2023. Spending that fiscal year was $6.1T, so the improper payments were about 4% of the total spent.<p>> About $186 billion (79%) of such errors were concentrated in five program areas: Medicare, Medicaid, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Paycheck Protection Program Loan forgiveness.