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U.S. NEWS Friday 28 June 2024
Justice Department charges nearly 200

people in $2.7 billion health care fraud

schemes crackdown

Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at a news conference across the
street from the Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14,
2024, in New York.
Associated Press
Man charged with threatening

to kill presidential candidates
found dead as jury was

deciding verdict

By STEVE LeBLANC and HOLLY RAMER
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice
headquarters in Washington, Thursday, June 27, 2024. Associated Press
Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man
charged with threatening the lives of presidential can-
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER day they received the grafts coins and jewelry. Officials didates last year has been found dead while a jury was
Associated Press or within days, court papers seized more than $52 million deciding his verdict, according to court filings Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Near- say. from Gehrke's personal and The jury began weighing the case against Tyler Ander-
ly 200 people have been In less than two years, more business bank accounts after son, 30, of Dover on Tuesday after a trial that began
charged in a sweeping than $900 million in bogus her arrest, prosecutors say. Monday. His lawyer did not immediately respond to
nationwide crackdown on claims were submitted to In total, 193 people were email and phone messages seeking comment. A court
health care fraud schemes Medicare for grafts that were charged in a series of sep- filing said "the government has learned that the defen-
with false claims topping $2.7 used on fewer than 500 pa- arate cases brought over dant is deceased." Prosecutors have moved to dismiss
billion, the Justice Depart- tients, prosecutors said. about two weeks in the the indictment.
ment said on Thursday. The owners of the wound nationwide health care The U.S. Attorney's office did not name the candidates.
Attorney General Merrick care companies, Alexan- fraud sweep. Authorities When Anderson was arrested, a spokesperson for Re-
Garland announced the dra Gehrke and Jeffrey King, seized more than $230 mil- publican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that texts
charges against doctors, were arrested this month at lion in cash, luxury cars and were directed at his campaign. Anderson had told the
nurse practitioners and oth- the Phoenix airport as they other assets. The Justice De- FBI in an interview that he sent similar texts to "multiple
ers across the U.S. accused were boarding a flight to partment carries out these other campaigns," according to a court document.
of a variety of scams, includ- London, according to court sweeping health care fraud Anderson was indicted by a federal grand jury in De-
ing a $900 million scheme in papers urging a judge to efforts periodically with the cember on three counts of sending a threat using inter-
Arizona targeting dying pa- keep them behind bars while goal of helping to deter state commerce. Each charge provides for a sentence
tients. they await trial. An attorney other potential wrongdoers. of up to five years in prison, up to three years of super-
"It does not matter if you are for Gehrke declined to com- In another Arizona case, vised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
a trafficker in a drug cartel ment, and a lawyer for King one woman is accused of Police in Concord, New Hampshire, were asked to help
or a corporate executive or didn't immediately respond billing the state's Medicaid search for Anderson after he failed to show up for court
medical professional em- to an email from The Associ- agency for substance abuse and eventually located a car in a garage at Concord
ployed by a health care ated Press. treatment services that didn't Hospital at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to
company, if you profit from Authorities allege Gehrke serve any real purpose or Deputy Chief John Thomas.
the unlawful distribution of and King, who got married were never provided, pros- Officers detected a strong chemical smell coming
controlled substances, you this year, knew charges were ecutors say. from the car and called in a hazmat team. Anderson's
will be held accountable," coming and had been pre- Another case alleges a body was removed from the car and pronounced
Garland said in a statement. paring to flee. At their home, scheme in Florida to distrib- dead. There were no weapons found. Thomas said no
In the Arizona case, prosecu- authorities found a book ute misbranded HIV drugs. foul play is suspected at this time.
tors have accused two own- titled "How To Disappear: Prosecutors say drugs were Anderson was arrested on Dec. 9 and was released
ers of wound care compa- Erase Your Digital Footprint, bought on the black market Dec. 14. A federal judge set forth several conditions for
nies of accepting more than Leave False Trails, and Van- and resold to unsuspecting his release, including that he avoid contact with any
$330 million in kickbacks as ish Without a Trace," accord- pharmacies, which then presidential candidate and their political campaigns.
part of a scheme to fraudu- ing to court papers. In one provided the medications Anderson, who was receiving mental health treatment,
lently bill Medicare for am- of their bags packed for their to patients. was also ordered to take all of his prescribed medica-
niotic wound grafts, which flight, there was a book titled In some cases, patients were tions.
are dressings to help heal "Criminal Law Handbook: given bottles that contained According to court documents, Anderson had re-
wounds. Know Your Rights, Survive different drugs than the la- ceived a text message from Ramaswamy's campaign
Nurse practitioners were The System," the papers say. bel showed. One patient notifying him of a breakfast event in Portsmouth. The
pressured to apply the Gehrke and King lived lav- ended up unconscious for campaign staff got two text messages in response.
wound grafts to elderly pa- ishly off the scheme, prose- 24 hours after taking what One threatened to shoot the candidate in the head,
tients who didn't need them, cutors allege, citing in court he was led to believe was and the other threatened to kill everyone at the event
including people in hospice papers luxury cars, a nearly his HIV medication but was and desecrate their corpses. The charges say similar
care, the Justice Department $6 million home and more actually an anti-psychotic texts were sent to two different candidates before the
said. Some patients died the than $520,000 in gold bars, drug, prosecutors say.q Ramaswamy messages, on Nov. 22 and Dec. 6.q