Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
All Content > Government Coverage > Mid Atlantic

Title of entry: 
Free Covid Tests Are Back. New Fraud Schemes to Follow.

Issue or Publication date:
Feb. 2, 2023; June 12, 2023; Oct. 3, 2023

Publication name: 
Bloomberg Government

Publishing/parent company: 
Bloomberg Industry Group

View Website home page:
https://news.bloomberglaw.com

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

Courtney Rozen in June broke the news that the US Justice Department is investigating who bilked millions from Medicare by stealing the ID numbers of seniors in multiple states and ordering Covid-19 tests those seniors didn’t want. She landed this exclusive by following up on tips she received after an initial story in February reporting about the Biden Administration’s chaotic rollout of its free test kit by mail program and the administration’s refusal to release records of that effort.

While Courtney sealed the story by getting confirmation of the probe from a senior health-care prosecutor at the Justice Department, the first time it had discussed the topic, she did the reporting through individual tips and local news sources to string together the conclusion that scams had been pulled off in at least 10 states. DOJ had actually only prosecuted one of the cases.

In October, Courtney returned to the topic again, reporting that, for more than a year, Medicare enrollees across the country have reported receiving COVID tests they never ordered, and local officials have sent out warnings about the potential fraudsters behind the mass mailings. As part of her reporting, Courtney obtained video by an officer’s body camera in which one individual being investigated described himself as the intermediary for a group of four pharmacies that sent out test kits to people who ordered them, usually online; that footage is embedded in the story.

Bloomberg Industry Group’s primary audience consists of professionals, mainly lawyers, but also including tax practitioners, lobbyists, corporate executives, labor union officials, consultants, government managers, members or Congress, and congressional staff. In addition, much of our content exists outside our paywall and, through social media and other channels, reaches a wider audience. These stories in particular circulated widely, which is important because their impact reaches far beyond our core markets.

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Entry URL(s), if applicable:
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https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/biden-mailed-737-million-covid-tests-but-mum-on-who-got-them
Additional URLs, if needed:
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/doj-probing-covid-test-fraud-including-kits-sent-to-dead-people
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/free-covid-tests-are-back-expect-new-fraud-schemes-to-follow