More than a dozen health care professionals in North Texas are accused of submitting hundreds of millions of dollars in false and fraudulent health care claims.
More than a dozen health care professionals in North Texas are accused of submitting hundreds of millions of dollars in false and fraudulent health care claims.
Physicians, nurses and other health care workers face an array of federal charges, from conspiracy to commit fraud to offering and accepting bribes. The charges are part of a sweeping federal investigation announced Tuesday that has led to charges against about 450 people, including 90 physicians, nationwide. Authorities say the fraudulent claims totaled $6.5 billion nationwide.
In North Texas, authorities say they have identified $365 million in fraudulent and false claims and have seized more than $35 million in cash, luxury vehicles and other assets.
CLICK HERE to read the FULL Health care fraud investigation nets a dozen arrests in North Texas article.
THE HASHFLARE “CLOUD MINING” PONZI SCHEME (GLOBAL/ESTONIA)
Date: February 13, 2025 (Guilty Pleas) Perpetrators: Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin
Case Description: This $577 million cryptocurrency fraud remains one of the largest digital asset scams in history, with major legal developments concluding in 2025. Potapenko and Turogin operated “Hashflare,” which they marketed as a massive cryptocurrency mining operation. Hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide purchased “mining contracts,” believing they were renting hash power to mine Bitcoin. In reality, the duo was running a sophisticated Ponzi scheme.
They created fake customer dashboards that showed “real-time” mining profits, but the money being paid out was simply the capital of newer investors. They laundered the proceeds through shell companies to purchase luxury real estate and a fleet of high-end vehicles. After a massive international investigation involving the FBI and Estonian authorities, the pair agreed to forfeit over $400 million in assets. This case underscores the “Cyber-enabled Fraud” warning issued by the FATF in early 2026: as technology evolves, the scale of fraud moves from local millions to global billions in the blink of an eye.
Link to Original: ACFE – High Profile Fraud of 2025