The Wind

The Department of Justice announced that three men are headed to prison for participating in a $2 billion healthcare fraud scheme.

The scheme worked through fraudulent billing codes, fake medical procedures, and a network of clinics that charged insurance companies for services they did not provide. The investigation took four years. The prosecution was thorough. The convictions are real.

The person who designed the scheme is in the wind.

(The wind is not a federal district. The DOJ has jurisdiction over thirty-six states, six territories, and the District of Columbia. The wind is outside all of them.)

The three men going to prison ran the clinics, processed the claims, and managed the billing. They were the mechanism. The person who built the mechanism, organized the network, and directed the operation is currently described as "at large."

"At large" is what you say when you have completed a successful prosecution and started a search.

The DOJ described the outcome as a major victory. This is accurate. The definition of "major" they are using does not require locating the person responsible.

Two billion dollars moved through the healthcare billing system while the investigation was running. The system processed every claim. The system does not comment on outcomes.

Three men are going to prison. One person is in the wind. The wind has a better clearance rate.