Operation Free Shot is tracking down doctors who charge Medicaid for immunizations that were paid for by the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. VFC is an immunization program funded jointly by state and federal government. The Department of Public Health distributes vaccines to doctors and clinics for free. In May 2004, Jorge Elias, a Norwalk, CT doctor, pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud. He had charged Medicaid and other insurers for these free vaccines. In all he collected over $220,000 for vaccines that were already paid for by the government. Elias has agreed to pay $222,920 to the government, as well as $108,000 to private insurers. He could face jail time as well.

Operation Free Shot is a continuing investigation by Health Care Fraud Task Force, which is coordinated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Participants in the Task Force include the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the Connecticut Chief States Attorneys Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Connecticut Department of Social Services, the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office Drug Control Division, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

For more information visit Operation Free Shot Press Release