National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action Results in 193 Defendants Charged and Over $2.75 Billion in False Claims

Three Defendants Charged in the Western District of Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY – U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester has announced criminal charges against three defendants in connection with the Justice Department’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. Descriptions of each case involved in the enforcement action are available on the Department’s website here.

“It does not matter if you are a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for the sake of profits.”

“We must protect these federal programs which provide vital funding to our society’s most vulnerable,” said United States Attorney Robert J. Troester. “Today’s nationwide announcement is further proof of the Department of Justice’s ongoing commitment to protect Americans from those who seek to exploit government programs for personal gain.”    

“We will not tolerate fraud that preys on patients who need and deserve high quality health care,” said the Honorable Christi A. Grimm, the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “The hard work of the HHS-OIG team and our outstanding law enforcement partners makes today’s action possible.  We must protect taxpayer dollars and keep Americans safe from harms to their health, privacy, and financial well-being.”

The charges are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 193 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of over $2.75 billion in alleged false billings. As part of this national initiative, the following individuals have been charged in the Western District of Oklahoma:

• Dr. Dustin York, 39, and Vincent Carter, 39, both of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, were charged by indictment with health care fraud and conspiracy to pay kickbacks in connection with the delivery of DME. According to the indictment, York, a licensed chiropractor, and Carter, his business partner, operated Discover DME, a DME supplier. Through Discover DME, York and Carter are alleged to have purchased doctors’ orders, paid kickbacks to obtain referrals through telemarketing companies, and then submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare based on those doctors’ orders and referrals. In total, the defendants caused Discover DME to submit to a federal health care program false and fraudulent claims for DME totaling over $4.8 million. Discover DME was paid over $1.1 million as a result of the false and fraudulent claims. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Snyder and D.H. Dilbeck of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.

• Priscilla Orange, age 66, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was charged by indictment with obstruction of a federal audit, federal program theft, and making false statements to the Small Business Administration. As alleged in the indictment Orange operated a daycare provider in Oklahoma City that primarily served low-income children. Orange applied on behalf of her business for federal funds from programs administered by the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, as well as the Small Business Administration, and received approximately $494,000, but she subsequently misspent the money on impermissible personal expenses. The indictment further alleges that Orange obstructed a federal audit of her use of certain of the funds. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D.H. Dilbeck of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.

NOTE:  A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Western District of Oklahoma cases are the result of investigations by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General.