Let’s Call John Walsh: OIG’s Most Wanted

WASHINGTON — Yesterday the HHS Office of Inspector General
launched its Most Wanted Fugitives List — the first-ever list
of individuals sought by authorities on charges of health care
fraud and abuse.

The list, at http://oig.hhs.gov/fugitives on the OIG website,
includes photos and profiles of each “featured fugitive.” The site
also includes an online tip form and the OIG hotline number
(888/476-4453) to report information in either English or Spanish,
24/7. The site will also indicate when a fugitive’s status changes,
including when he or she is captured.

“Individuals who steal from federal health care programs and
then flee from the consequences of their crimes must be held
accountable. We hope our new web page will encourage the public to
help us apprehend these fugitives,” said Gerald T. Roy, OIG deputy
inspector general for investigations, in a release.

The 10 people on the first health care Most Wanted list have
allegedly cost taxpayers more than $124 million in fraud. In all,
OIG is hunting for more than 170 fugitives on charges related to
health care fraud and abuse. Among those on the debut list:

• Carlos, Luis and Jose Benitez, working through their Miami-area
  HIV infusion clinics, are accused of submitting fraudulent Medicare
  claims totaling about $110 million. OIG alleges that the services
  for which the brothers billed were medically unnecessary or never
  administered.

• Leonard Nwafor and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for $1.1
  million and collected $525,000 in fraudulent claims for DME
  including power wheelchairs, scooters and hospital beds. This
  investigation was led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Los
  Angeles.

• Susan Bendigo is accused of billing Medi-Cal, California’s
  Medicaid program, for $17.1 million, $10 million of which she
  actually collected. Working as director of nursing for a company
  providing nurses for home health agencies, Bendigo is said to have
  sent unlicensed nurses to treat Medi-Cal patients, though she knew
  the program required licensed nurses.