The U.S. Department of Justice announced a massive, coordinated enforcement operation on Tuesday that has resulted in criminal charges against 455 individuals across 45 states and territories. The 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown targeted schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in fraudulent claims submitted to federal and state health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Among those indicted are 90 physicians and other licensed health care providers. Officials described the sweep as one of the largest operations of its kind in U.S. history, involving 41 states and territories, 57 federal districts and 46 state Medicaid fraud control units, with investigators seizing more than $127 million in cash, luxury vehicles and other assets.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a press conference that the cases uncovered a wide range of schemes targeting Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs. Authorities said nearly 300 defendants were linked to Medicaid-related fraud totaling more than $500 million. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, “Healthcare fraud steals from taxpayers, exploits vulnerable patients and puts lives at risk.”
According to federal prosecutors, the illicit activities went far beyond monetary theft, resulting in direct patient injury and at least one casualty. In one instance, a physician reportedly reviewed and cleared a student’s abnormal cardiac evaluation in mere seconds; the athlete died weeks later from an enlarged heart. In another case, providers operated a telephone medication refill service that kept dispensing dangerous substances even after several users suffered fatal overdoses.
Among the largest cases was an Arizona-based operation accused of generating about $2 billion through fraudulent billing for wound graft products, with prosecutors alleging proceeds were spent on multimillion-dollar properties, luxury jewelry and exotic vehicles. Another case charged a California hospice owner with enrolling ineligible and deceased patients using stolen identities and falsified records, while Florida physician Jason Finkelstein was accused of running an $89 million cardiovascular testing scheme that prosecutors said exposed young athletes to unnecessary procedures.
Law enforcement authorities also executed international operations over the two-week sweep, tracking down and extraditing high-profile fugitives from Estonia, the Philippines, and Cyprus. Government agents seized over $182 million in assets, including multi-million dollar bank accounts, luxury jewelry, a yacht, a Bentley Continental GT, and a Ferrari 296 GTS.
The annual health care fraud initiative follows last year’s record-setting takedown, which targeted more than $14 billion in alleged losses. Federal officials said the latest operation underscores an ongoing effort to dismantle organized fraud networks and protect taxpayer-funded health programs from abuse while safeguarding patients from medically unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments.
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