The Justice Department has announced criminal charges against 455 individuals following a two-week nationwide crackdown on healthcare fraud, uncovering schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims from insurers.
The crackdown, which spanned 45 US states and territories, was announced on Tuesday, June 23, by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who called it “the greatest combined federal and state effort combating health care fraud in history.”
A nurse in Texas was charged with billing Medicare for $1 million for each patient to whom she applied unnecessary tissue grafts, the feds alleged.
Marizel Yukee, 49, of Las Vegas, was charged with fraudulently billing $906 million in claims for which she was paid $297 million. Marizel Yukee
She allegedly funneled the stolen funds to buy posh cars, real estate, jewelry, and even built a $4.6 million beach resort in the Philippines, prosecutors claimed. The $865,000 custom Bulgari necklace.
When she was arrested, the feds seized $30 million from her bank accounts, $467,000 in cash, a $594,000 Ferrari 296 GTS, seven other luxury vehicles, an $865,000 custom Bulgari necklace, and another million worth of jewelry, officials claimed. Marizel Yukee and and her husband Rodelson Yukee shopping at David Yurman in Las Vegas.
Separately, three Florida nurses were busted for a $118 million tissue graft scheme. Leigh Tesar allegedly spent $215,000 on a luxury box suite at the Raymond James Stadium, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play, according to a criminal indictment.
She also allegedly spent $400,000 on fine art, according to the court papers.
The vice president of sales at a company that sold bioengineered skin substitutes allegedly carried out an illegal kickback scheme from 2021 to 2024, paying medical providers to push their product, prosecutors claim.
Brian Rowan, 47, of Las Vegas, made over $24 million at the company and bought multimillion-dollar homes, million-dollar life insurance policies, and high-end watches and cars, including a $135,000 Maserati, the feds alleged. Medical sales vice president Brian Rowan allegedly spent the stolen cash on a Ferrari 488 Spider convertible.
The Arizona-based company was peddling amniotic wound grafts, which it purchased from tissue banks and then sold at a 2,000% markup — or $1,450 per square centimeter, the feds said, which comes out to $224.75 per square inch.
Rowan and other execs used 40% of their profits to pay out kickbacks, officials alleged.
The scheme targeted hospice patients for the skin grafts, which would be applied without the consultation of their doctors, without protecting against infections, and sometimes applying them to superficial wounds that didn’t require the grafts or to larger areas than needed, prosecutors claimed.
In total, he and his co-conspirators billed $1.2 billion for unnecessary allografts and were ultimately paid $614 million, the feds allege.
Two others, Jeffrey King and Alexandra Gehrke, have previously been sentenced to 15.5 years and 14 years, respectively, behind bars for their roles in this scheme, which netted them $97 million in cash, $21 million in life insurance policies, and four luxury cars, including a Ferrari 488 Spider convertible and three top-end Mercedes vehicles, the feds alleged.
One alleged fraudster in Illinois billed Medicaid for behavioral health services for hundreds of hours a day — despite the fact he didn’t have enough staff to justify it, the feds alleged.
Daniel Robinson, 51, of Palos Park, Illinois, allegedly billed for $67 million for counseling and therapy services that wouldn’t have been realistic even if all of the providers at his company, ODA Solutions Inc., worked 24 hours a day, according to a complaint. Daniel Robinson,
His total claims were $92 million, and he received $75 million, according to the docs.
The money was diverted toward $44 million in investment accounts, $10 million to open a luxury car dealership, $4 million to buy real estate and fund home renovations, court papers allege. Robinson’s 2020 Bentley Continental GT V8.
He also allegedly owned a yacht named Butt Nekkid that was docked in Chicago, court papers show. Robinson’s boat, the Butt Nekkid.
A Texas doctor allegedly carried out an $89 million medical fraud scheme that ended with a student athlete’s death, the feds alleged.
Dr. Jason Finkelstein, 53, of Fort Worth, Texas, allegedly tested the hearts of student athletes at campuses around the country, submitting $89 million in claims under his two companies, Cardiovascular Testing Services PA and Cardiovascular Healthcare Associates PA, the feds claimed.
Yet Finkelstein made up bogus conditions to justify the cardiac testing of the students and signed off on the results after only reviewing them for seconds, prosecutors claimed.
In October 2024, he allegedly claimed one student’s results were “normal” even though the tests showed the student potentially had heart problems.
The student died 24 days later of cardiac arrest during practice with his basketball team, the feds alleged.
Even after Finkelstein was told of the student’s death, he continued to rubber-stamp test results, prosecutors claimed.
A Florida man allegedly ran two bogus medical supply companies and fraudulently billed Medicaid and Medicare for $3.76 billion, court papers allege.
Ibrahim Hilmi, 58, of Miami, billed for medical equipment and wound dressing that his companies, ABRH Car Inc. and Sunshine Senior Solutions LLC, never provided, court papers alleged. Ibrahim Hilmi arrives in South Florida after being busted for an alleged $3.76 billion fraud scheme.
Most of the money he billed for was never paid to him, but he did receive $5.7 million in his companies’ accounts, according to a criminal indictment.
And within weeks, that money was transferred to Hong Kong and Indonesia, the court papers allege. When Hilmi started getting negative reviews accusing him of health care fraud, he fled the country and kept the racket going by getting others to run his business accounts, the indictment alleges.
He was arrested in Kyrenia, Cyprus, and brought to Florida for his first court appearance in the case Monday, prosecutors said.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Edo State Command, has foiled an attempted pipeline vandalism operation and recovered several items allegedly used by the suspects at Obazagbon Community in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of Edo State.
The State Commandant, Akintayo Saidi Ayinla, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Ogbebor Efosa.
The commandant said, “On July 16, 2026, at about 1:00 p.m., operatives of the Command’s Anti-Vandal Unit, working in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Edo State Governor on Pipeline Security and Surveillance, were on a routine patrol along the NNPC pipeline corridor at Obazagbon when they encountered a group of suspected pipeline vandals excavating and vandalising the pipeline.
“Upon sighting the security operatives, the suspects opened fire in a desperate attempt to escape. The NSCDC personnel responded, forcing the criminals to abandon the operation and flee into the surrounding bush.
“Items recovered from the scene include five long gas cylinders, two motorcycles, two shovels and two digger heads.”
The commandant described the operation as another major breakthrough in the command’s sustained efforts to protect Nigeria’s critical national assets and infrastructure.
He warned criminal elements and their sponsors to stay away from government facilities, particularly oil and gas installations, stressing that the command remained resolute in its mandate to safeguard critical infrastructure.
“Our operatives are already on the trail of the fleeing suspects. They cannot evade justice forever. We are committed to apprehending everyone connected with this criminal act, including their sponsors and collaborators, and ensuring they face the full weight of the law,” he added.
The commandant appealed to residents of Edo State to continue supporting security agencies by providing credible and timely information that would help prevent acts of vandalism and other criminal activities.
He also assured members of the public that all information received would be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
Ayinla reaffirmed the commitment of the NSCDC Edo State Command to working closely with sister security agencies and relevant stakeholders to protect critical national assets and infrastructure, as well as ensure the safety of lives and property across the state.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has declared an alleged drug kingpin, Nnamuka Kelvin Uchenna (a.k.a Odogwu) and three of his associates: Emmanuella Chinonso Iroka; Nnamuka Ifeanyi Kingsley and Ekechi Franklin Chijioke (a.k.a Ekene Okwunaga) wanted over their involvement in the establishment of a clandestine laboratory, production of methamphetamine and drug money laundering.
In a statement released this morning July 17, the spokesperson of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said the suspects were declared wanted based on the order of Justice Iniekenimi Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Owerri, Imo state, following an application by NDLEA in suit number FHC/OW/CS/22/2026 filed before the court on 3rd July 2026.
Babafemi said this followed the discovery of a methamphetamine producing clandestine laboratory where 18.4 kilograms of the illicit substance and other items were recovered by NDLEA operatives at Isiozi in Umuaka, Njaba local government area of Imo state on 25th February 2026. Investigations later linked the wanted suspects to the meth lab, and have since then gone into hiding.
‘’Through forensic investigation of the meth syndicate by NDLEA operatives, bank accounts linked to the wanted suspects with a combined balance of Nine Billion, Eight Hundred and Forty Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixty Six Naira, Sixty Six Kobo (N9,840,873,566.66) only was frozen while the Agency has secured interim forfeiture orders covering multibillion naira assets owned by members of the syndicate including: a filling station, multi-storey residential buildings and four Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) marked RLU 148 AJ; KJA 563 FZ; BWR 249 DY and FST 208 HU.”Babafemi said
Reacting to the development, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and operatives involved in the operation, describing it as a clear demonstration of the Agency’s resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks and disrupt the financial architecture that sustains them.
“This latest operation reaffirms our unwavering commitment to tracking down drug kingpins and their collaborators, no matter how sophisticated their network or how long they attempt to evade justice. The discovery of this clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Njaba, and the subsequent freezing of nearly ten billion naira in illicit funds, alongside the forfeiture of a filling station, multi-storey buildings and four exotic SUVs, sends an unambiguous message that the illegal drug business is no longer a safe haven for criminals seeking to launder their ill-gotten wealth through legitimate enterprises.
I want to assure Nigerians that the Agency will not relent in going after the fleeing suspects and anyone else linked to this syndicate. We will continue to deploy financial and forensic intelligence to trace, freeze and forfeit assets acquired through drug trafficking, just as we will not hesitate to invoke the full weight of the law against fugitives who think they can hide from justice. NigerianSecurity Information
I appeal to members of the public with useful information on the whereabouts of the wanted suspects to volunteer such information to the nearest NDLEA office or through our confidential lines, as we remain committed to ridding our communities of the scourge of drug trafficking and its attendant social and economic harm”, Marwa stated.
The Kogi State Government has announced the rescue of the four persons abducted during the recent attack on an unauthorised examination centre in Olowa, Dekina Local Government Area of the state.
The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, describing the rescue as the outcome of a coordinated security operation ordered by Governor Usman Ododo immediately after the incident.
According to the commissioner, Ododo directed the State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (retd.), to coordinate a joint rescue operation involving the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, local vigilantes and other security agencies.
“Shortly after the kidnapping incident, the governor directed the State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (retd.), to coordinate the rescue operation.
“The State Security Adviser and the leadership of the 12 Brigade and the 21 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, the DSS, the police and local security operatives stormed the forest to ensure the victims were rescued.
“Just this evening, while inspecting the Armoured Personnel Carriers procured by the Kogi State Government to strengthen the fight against criminality, the governor assured newsmen that every effort was being made to secure the release of the victims.
“A few hours later, the victims regained their freedom. The sustained pressure on the kidnappers and the saturation of the forest by heavily armed security personnel forced the criminals to abandon the victims and flee.
“Security operatives remain in the forest, and the operation is still ongoing.
“We are determined to ensure that none of the criminals escapes justice. Our resolve is clear: anyone who chooses the path of crime in Kogi State will face the full weight of the law.
“We can confirm that the school principal, the NECO official and the two students have all been rescued safely.
“They are hale and hearty and are currently with security agencies for debriefing and necessary medical checks,” he said.
Fanwo commended the gallantry and professionalism of personnel of the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Service, the Police, local vigilantes and other security agencies involved in the rescue operation, describing their swift response as further evidence of effective inter-agency collaboration in tackling insecurity.
The commissioner also expressed the Kogi State Government’s appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for supporting the state’s security efforts.
“The President directed the heads of the security agencies to give Kogi every necessary support to rescue the victims. Today, that support has yielded the desired result. We are deeply grateful to Mr President for standing firmly with Kogi State in our determination to protect lives and property.”
He reiterated that the Ododo administration would not relent in its efforts to rid every part of the state of criminal elements, assuring residents that the government would continue to invest in intelligence gathering, security logistics and inter-agency collaboration to keep the state safe.
