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Fraud Detection and Prosecution: Combatting the "Fraud Tax"

NCJ Number
150544
Date Published
1993
Length
38 pages
Annotation
This report documents the efforts of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office to combat Medicaid fraud, unemployment compensation fraud, and insurance fraud.
Abstract
"Fraud tax" as used in this report refers to the hidden, extra amount that citizens pay in insurance premiums, in taxes, for health care, and for goods and services that is added to cover the cost of fraud and corruption. The Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is fighting fraud by investigating and prosecuting providers of health-related services who are cheating the system. In 1992, that unit set records for the number of cases brought, convictions obtained, and money recovered. The Attorney General's Division of Employment and Training prosecutes employers and individuals who try to defraud the unemployment insurance system by failing to pay into the Unemployment Compensation Fund or by collecting unemployment benefits while working. The Insurance Fraud Division, working with members of the insurance industry, is combatting automobile and homeowners' insurance fraud and workers' compensation fraud through reforms in the system and prosecution of those defrauding the system. Experts estimate that from 5 to 25 percent of the cost of the workers' compensation system is the result of waste, fraud, and abuse. The report summarizes the nature and outcome of various cases prosecuted for fraud in the areas targeted.