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Feds charge 15 suspects in multiple alleged insurance, Medicare fraud schemes

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Cite

Pereira, I. (2026, October 23). Feds charge 15 suspects in multiple alleged insurance, Medicare fraud schemes. ABC News (US). https://abcnews.com/US/feds-charge-15-suspects-multiple-alleged-insurance-medicare/story?id=137483638

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

ABC News (US) · collected 2026-10-23 · by Ivan Pereira

Quick Summary

Federal prosecutors charged 15 individuals across several states in connection with an alleged fraud scheme that collectively took over $2 billion from Medicare and insurance companies. Eight defendants, including some physicians, were arrested on Thursday; arrests primarily occurred in California. The schemes involved fraudulent billing for substance abuse treatment, unnecessary atherectomy procedures, and hospice services for non-terminally ill patients. One of the largest cases focused on two people in Los Angeles and one in Texas who allegedly moved substance abuse patients across the country to enroll them in ineligible insurance policies, collecting over $1.6 billion.
Written by AI on 2026-10-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 24, 2026, 15 people were charged and at least 8 arrested in connection with a $2 billion healthcare fraud scheme involving substance abuse treatment centers, hospice services, and unnecessary surgeries in California. Federal investigators accused the suspects of defrauding Medicaid and private insurers through various fraudulent practices, including performing unnecessary medical procedures and providing inadequate or nonexistent addiction treatments. Notably, Nathan Young, 39, and his father David Young, 71, were arrested for allegedly orchestrating one of the largest sober-home fraud schemes in US history, which involved submitting over $1.6 billion in claims to major health insurers between 2020 and 2026, collecting more than $210 million. The scheme preyed on vulnerable individuals, often bringing homeless addicts from across the country to Southern California facilities to exploit their insurance policies.

Written for “California Fraud Investigations” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 California Fraud Investigations
Crime & Law · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 58% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
California latest target in Department of Justice efforts to end public benefits fraud Same event
Toronto Star
⚖️ Centre Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
California’s $2 billion medical fraud shame hid in plain sight — all we had to do was look Same event
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
Insurers milked for millions as part of alleged rehab fraud that lured addicts to California Different event
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 7 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss a large-scale Medicare and insurance fraud case, they describe different aspects of it. Article A covers the charging of 15 suspects across multiple states for an alleged $2 billion scheme, while Article B focuses specifically on Nathan Young and his father in California for orchestrating a $1.6 billion rehab fraud.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
58%
7 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
70/100
ABC News (US)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (US) · 1304 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Ivan Pereira
24 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 The father added the family would consider any available legal options as they continue seeking justice for their son.
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🔮 Five of the suspects were expected to appear in federal court in L.A., two were expected to appear in federal court in Texas and another was expected to appear in federal court in Illinois Thursday afternoon, according to the Justice Department.
2026-10-23 · speculative framing · Feds charge 15 suspects in multiple alleged insurance, Medicare fraud schemes
🔮 Arthur couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
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🔮 We will continue to monitor developments closely as the facts become clear.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 24 articles by Ivan Pereira →

Topics

California Los Angeles Medicare Texas the Justice Department

Subjects

the Justice Department ORG · 9× Medicare ORG · 6× California GPE · 2× Los Angeles GPE · 2× Texas GPE · 2× Illinois GPE · 1× L.A. GPE · 1×

Narrative

The alleged schemes included billing private insurers for phony substance abuse treatment, billing Medicare for unnecessary atherectomy procedures (which are for removing plaque from blood vessels) and another charging Medicare for hospice services for patients who weren't terminally ill, the Justice Department said.
framing: speculative · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-23
🔮 Five of the suspects were expected to appear in federal court in L.A., two were expected to appear in federal court in Texas and another was expected to appear in federal court in Illinois Thursday afternoon, according to the Justice Department.
2026-10-23 · ABC News (US)
Feds charge 15 suspects in multiple alleged insurance, Medicare fraud schemes · speculative framing

Claims (12 extracted, 7 hedged)

Feds charge 15 suspects in multiple alleged insurance, Medicare fraud schemes One case involved billing for allegedly fraudulent substance abuse treatment. uncertain
case → charge → treatment
Federal prosecutors charged 15 people across multiple states in connection with an alleged Medicare and insurance fraud schemes they allege collectively took in $2 billion, the Justice Department said on Thursday. asserted
Department → charge → Thursday
Eight of the defendants, some of whom were physicians, were arrested by federal agents on Thursday, with most of the arrests taking place in California, according to officials. uncertain
most → arrest → officials
The alleged schemes included billing private insurers for phony substance abuse treatment, billing Medicare for unnecessary atherectomy procedures (which are for removing plaque from blood vessels) and another charging Medicare for hospice services for patients who weren't terminally ill, the Justice Department said. asserted
Department → allege → patients
Five of the suspects were expected to appear in federal court in L.A., two were expected to appear in federal court in Texas and another was expected to appear in federal court in Illinois Thursday afternoon, according to the Justice Department. uncertain
another → expect → Department
The biggest case focused on two people in Los Angeles and another in Texas who allegedly spent years moving substance abuse patients from around the country to California, the Justice Department said. uncertain
Department → focus → California
The suspects allegedly enrolled the patients in insurance policies that they were not eligible for and obtained the highest reimbursement for substance abuse treatments. uncertain
they → enrol → treatments
They received over $1.6 billion, the Justice Department alleged. asserted
Department → receive → billion
In a separate case, a Los Angeles cardiothoracic surgeon and a chiropractor are accused of falsely diagnosing patients with arterial disease and recommending they receive atherectomies, the Justice Department said. asserted
Department → accuse → atherectomies
The suspects in this case billed Medicare for over $135 million for the procedures, the Justice Department alleged. asserted
Department → bill → procedures
Three cases dealt with suspects allegedly billing Medicare a combined $138 million for fraudulent hospice schemes, the Justice Department said. uncertain
Department → deal → schemes
The suspects allegedly billed patients who were not terminally ill, according to the Justice Department. uncertain
who → bill → Department
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