Investigation finds shell companies stealing millions from Medicare

Reuters reports on rampant Medicare fraud and the development of new technologies that can be used to fight it.

Reuters: Special Report: Phantom Firms Bleed Millions From Medicare
Hundreds of others have used the veil of corporate secrecy to help steal hundreds of millions of dollars from one of the nation's largest social service programs, a Reuters investigation has found. But basic checks by Reuters of Medicare providers in one city -; Miami -; suggest shell companies remain prime tools in perpetrating fraud. Simply by reviewing the incorporation records of Medicare providers in two buildings there, reporters uncovered information that one government official said could prompt "a serious criminal investigation" of some of the companies (Grow and Bigg, 12/21).

Reuters: Shell Games: States Resist Steps To Find Medicare Fraud
Basic computer-assisted sleuthing can turn up shell companies involved in Medicare frauds. But U.S. government officials overseeing the program have only just begun using those techniques. Tracking down the people behind those shells is even more difficult -; and U.S. states are resisting steps that might help crack such cases. A Reuters analysis of state incorporation records suggests that relatively simple steps can help identify fraud (12/21).