DoJ charges North Carolina fraudsters in record health care takedown

Federal prosecutors charged 455 defendants in the biggest health care fraud enforcement effort in U.S. history, a sweep that touched North Carolina and put fresh pressure on the Medicare and Medicaid billing systems Buncombe County residents rely on. The Department of Justice said the cases involved more than $6.5 billion in alleged false claims, 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, and patient harm that included death.

The national takedown stretched across 56 federal districts in 45 states and territories, with 50 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units taking part, the most in department history. Authorities said they seized more than $182 million in cash, luxury vehicles, jewelry and other assets, while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services suspended 1,079 providers and revoked billing privileges for another 1,403. DOJ said the 2025 sweep charged 324 defendants in more than $14.6 billion in alleged fraud, underscoring how quickly the federal crackdown has expanded.

North Carolina has already been pulled into those recurring sweeps. In the Western District of North Carolina, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson joined state and federal partners on June 30, 2025, when officials filed criminal charges against nine people tied to North Carolina and South Carolina Medicaid schemes and said civil actions produced nearly $5 million in settlements and judgments. In the Eastern District of North Carolina, Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar announced charges against five individuals and one company in a separate 2025 takedown case that involved alleged Medicaid kickbacks and false billing to Medicare.

For people in Buncombe County who get Medicare or Medicaid services, the red flags are often in the paperwork, not the exam room. Medicare says to review claims for services, supplies or equipment you did not receive, guard your Medicare number, and never share it if someone contacts you by text, call, email or social media asking for it. The federal health inspector general takes complaints about false claims, kickbacks and medical identity theft, and North Carolina’s Medicaid Investigations Division accepts Medicaid fraud and patient abuse reports at 919-881-2320.

Federal officials said the schemes in the 2026 operation included opioid abuse and significant patient harm, a reminder that health care fraud drains public dollars and can also put patients at direct risk. In Western North Carolina, where Medicaid dollars and Medicare claims move through the same local clinics, pharmacies and care networks as everywhere else in the state, the cases show how quickly billing fraud can become both a financial crime and a public health threat.