Fraudulent Medical Debt Collection Scheme Targeting Veterans Halted
An Oklahoma medical debt collection fraud scheme targeting veterans and seniors is no longer harming our nation’s heroes.
In a significant victory for consumer protection, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma has issued permanent injunctions against three men and two companies involved in a fraudulent medical debt collection scheme. The scheme, which targeted veterans and older Americans, was orchestrated by Christopher Parks, 63, Christopher Noah Parks, 31, and Stephen Miller, 39, operating under the names Assured Collections LLC and Assured Financial LLC.
The Scheme Unveiled
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil complaint alleging that the defendants sent thousands of fraudulent debt collection notices to consumers across the nation. These notices demanded payments for medical devices purportedly used in past medical procedures, such as leg compression devices to prevent blood clots post-surgery. However, the DOJ asserted that the defendants had no authority to collect these debts, and in many cases, the debts were entirely fictitious. Despite knowing the fraudulent nature of these claims, the defendants continued to harass consumers for payments.
Leadership from Behind Bars
Remarkably, Christopher Parks directed significant aspects of the scheme while incarcerated for other healthcare fraud charges. Recorded telephone calls from the prison revealed that Parks instructed Stephen Miller to switch the business name from Assured Collections LLC to Assured Financial LLC after numerous complaints were filed with the Better Business Bureau. This move was an attempt to evade detection and continue the fraudulent activities under a new guise.
Legal Consequences and Future Restrictions
Under the terms of the civil consent decrees, the defendants are permanently barred from engaging in any future billing and debt collection activities. They are also prohibited from accepting any payments from consumers who received debt collection notices from Assured Collections LLC or Assured Financial LLC. Additionally, the defendants must disclose the consent decrees to any current, prospective, or future associates in the healthcare or debt collection industries.
Statements from Officials
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the DOJ’s Civil Division, emphasized the department’s commitment to protecting vulnerable consumers from fraudulent debt claims. He praised the investigative partners for their crucial role in achieving this outcome. “The department is committed to preventing vulnerable consumers from being harmed by false claims about debts they purportedly owe,” Boynton stated. “I am thankful for the tireless efforts of our investigative partners who were integral to our success in this case.”
U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma highlighted the audacity of Christopher Parks, who devised the scheme while serving time for a previous healthcare fraud conviction. Johnson commended the collaborative efforts that brought the defendants to justice and reaffirmed his office’s dedication to pursuing fraudsters who exploit citizens. “Christopher Parks, a former attorney, devised a scheme to defraud Northern District of Oklahoma citizens of millions of dollars while he was in prison for a previous healthcare fraud scheme,” Johnson said. “Defendants were brought to justice for their brazen scheme through a collaborative effort between the department and our investigative partners. My office will zealously pursue fraudsters who swindle citizens of their hard-earned money.”
Protecting Military Members and Veterans
Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan Settle of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) underscored the importance of protecting the healthcare system for military members and their families. “Protecting the integrity of the healthcare system for our military members and their families is a top priority of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),” Settle said. “DCIS will continue to work with its law enforcement partners and the Justice Department to hold fraudsters accountable for their illicit activities and to ensure America’s service members are not victimized.”
Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/court-enjoins-fraudulent-medical-debt-collection-scheme-targeting-veterans-and-older
VHA mental health is the fraud outside of medication and inpatient psychiatric treatment when you go nuts. Everything else they do is fraud, waste, and abuse. They should just have psychiatric doctors there and nothing more. VA compensation takes care of the social work aspect. If a fist full of money doesn’t do you any good.. you’re too fucked for them to help you anyway. Can’t get compensation? You’re fucked!
Got a shit ton of people who don’t wanna go to VHA for a shit ton of reasons. Not one of those reasons will they so much as lend an ear to. You leave.. it’s less time and money they gotta spend.
Need to just let veterans sue certain people at the VA if lawyers won’t take the case. Just sue just to sue for Christ sakes. Just have hundreds of cases. Doesn’t matter if you win so long as they’re sued. If it’s medically necessary then they’re breaking the law. Claiming that only someone in an emergency situation or terminal illness is medically necessary to treat is a lie. These people are breaking the law everywhere. That’s not counting the abuse which is a civil rights violation. Don’t forget to mention the civil rights violations in the filing.
Someone mentioned in another article about how VA will do whatever is “medically necessary.” Just imagine how many people went in there for care over decades, and they determined something wasn’t “medically necessary” because they didn’t want to pay for it, and that person just left and it got swept under the rug. You don’t hear too much about that do you? And you don’t hear from the millions of vets who don’t go there to begin with for various other reasons. Let’s get a press conference with the VA secretary and go over all that shit. All I see is them talking about all the stuff they do .. and not specific instances where they didn’t do and what they will do as a result.
Heathcare for all is a great idea. That being done though heathcare models like VHA is a terrible idea, a failure, and a disaster. Quite frankly, it’s like a grocery store with nothing on the shelves, constant problems funding and otherwise, and a place where people right out of college or even less feel that they can go and use people as guinea pigs…or otherwise put into practice whatever political ideology they adhere to. Abuse and denial of care are common at times when that’s all the care someone has. People should never feel forced to depend on people they don’t like for medical care. That’s a human rights violation.