DOJ charges 15 in record $10.6 billion health care fraud case

Fifteen people, including two pharmacists, have been charged in what federal officials say is the largest health care fraud and money laundering scheme ever prosecuted in the U.S., with over $10.6 billion in fraudulent claims targeting Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers.

Eleven of the defendants are accused of operating a transnational criminal enterprise that stole the personal data of more than one million Americans to file fake Medicare claims through sham companies, according to a press release on Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

The investigation, dubbed “Operation Gold Rush,” revealed that the group, based in Russia and other countries, submitted over $10.6 billion in fraudulent claims for durable medical equipment.

Four suspects were arrested in Estonia and face extradition to the U.S., while seven others remain at large. Authorities say proceeds were laundered through shell companies, international banks, and cryptocurrency.

In related cases, four others were charged separately. Hong Yuen Mak pleaded guilty to a scheme involving kickbacks and false Medicare claims for over-the-counter products.

Boris Manaev allegedly billed $8.2 million for unnecessary equipment, pharmacist Mujjahid Huq is accused of charging $2.1 million for drugs never dispensed, and Joseph Tony Brown-Arkah faces charges in an $85 million fraud and opioid distribution case.

The indictments are part of the DOJ’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, a coordinated effort to combat fraud in federally funded health care programs. Officials said such schemes endanger patient safety and drain resources from vulnerable Americans.

“The defendants perpetrated health care frauds of staggering proportions,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. “That is a health care fraud record they will regret setting.”

Roughly $27.7 million in assets tied to Operation Gold Rush have been seized so far. Investigators say the group used false records, virtual private servers, and fake owners to conceal its operations and expand across the U.S. and abroad.