Health Care Fraud Charges Against Current and Former Russian Diplomats and Their Spouses

Health Care Fraud Charges Against Current and Former Russian Diplomats and Their Spouses

NEW YORK, NY -- U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos announce charges against 49 defendants for participating in a widespread fraud scheme from 2004 to August 2013 to illegally obtain nearly half a million dollars in Medicaid benefits. Each of the defendants charged in the Complaint is a current or former Russian diplomat or the spouse of a diplomat employed at either the Russian Mission to the United Nations, the Russian Federation Consulate General in New York, or the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in the USA, New York Office. The Complaint alleges that each of the defendants and their unnamed co-conspirators participated in a widespread scheme to illegally obtain Medicaid benefits for prenatal care and related costs by, among other things, falsely underreporting their income or falsely claiming that their child was a citizen of the United States.