In a sting known as “Operation Headwaters,” FBI agents found a company allegedly advising other companies how to get reimbursed for their products, even though the products are not covered by Medicare.

Mike Fitzgerald covered the story in the Belleville News-Democrat. He contacted Mathias Consulting to find out more about Medicare fraud:

“Medicare is a tempting target to scam artists because it is an entitlement program. Most of its annual budget comes from the pockets of taxpayers, and not directly from its elderly customers, said Robin Mathias, a health care fraud investigator based in Santa Rosa, Calif.

‘You don’t have the same kind of natural built-in controls that you have for credit-card fraud,’ Mathias said, ‘because the customer, the patient, often doesn’t see the billing or have as much interest in making sure it’s accurate.’”

Read Mike’s article