A physician from Texas has pleaded guilty today for his involvement in a fraudulent scheme relating to over-the-counter COVID-19 tests, which resulted in a loss of $5.5 million. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reported this development.
Dr. Mark Mazzare, 57, from Tyler, has confessed to defrauding the U.S. government by engaging in the illegal purchase, sale, and distribution of Medicare beneficiary identification numbers, commonly referred to as BINs, as announced by the department.
According to the Department of Justice, court documents have revealed that Mazzare engaged in a deceitful agreement with a supposed marketer in order to conceal the acquisition of BINs as “lead packages.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that the packages contained manipulated audio recordings. These recordings falsely portrayed Medicare beneficiaries as requesting COVID-19 test kits, despite the fact that no such requests were actually made.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Mazzare utilized the fraudulently acquired BINs to file claims worth over $5.5 million to Medicare for COVID-19 test kits between November 2022 and June 2023.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has stated that the tests were sent to beneficiaries without their request or need, deeming them medically unnecessary.
Medicare paid around $3.44 million on the false claims, according to the department’s statement.
According to the Department of Justice, Mazzare could potentially be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) emphasized that this case serves as an example of the wider trend of fraudulent schemes that specifically target Medicare during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It further highlights the ongoing efforts of authorities to uncover, prosecute, and prevent financial crimes related to healthcare.
Since March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, as per the DOJ, has filed charges against over 5,400 individuals. These defendants have collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers for a total of more than $27 billion.