Erekle Gugava, 33, Billed Medicare $1.3 Billion In Five Months
His Pennsylvania equipment company collected $6.5 million of that before he wired it to a Russian-linked crime group overseas.
- Gugava alone signed for every bank account that received the insurers' reimbursement checks.
- Six federal agencies, from the FBI to the Labor Department, built the case together.
- A Massachusetts grand jury indicted him September 3; the single count carries 20 years.
Why it matters: Medicare verified a stack of invoices for five months without ever verifying a single patient.
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs ↗ · Sep 5, 20269/5/26