Obamacare Fraud Still Goes On, And This Latest Case Is Staggering
Obamacare fraud is in the news again, and this time the taxpayers got ripped off bad.
Last week Department of Justice (DOJ) officials announced that they had charged two men with federal wire fraud for allegedly using Obamacare to steal $161 million.
According to the DOJ, these two men, Cory Lloyd, 46, of Stuart, Fla. and Steven Strong, 42, of Mansfield, Texas allegedly submitted fraudulent enrollments to fully subsidize Obamacare insurance plans.
DOJ officials said they did this to obtain millions of dollars in commission payments from insurance companies. The feds pay out these subsidies to insurance companies.
RELATED: First of its Kind Report Explains How Much Fraud Costs Taxpayers
“According to court documents, Lloyd and Strong conspired to enroll consumers in ACA plans that were fully subsidized by the federal government by submitting false and fraudulent applications for individuals whose income did not meet the minimum requirements to be eligible for the subsidies,” the DOJ said.
“Lloyd allegedly received commission and other payments from an insurance company in exchange for enrolling consumers in the ACA plans. In turn, Lloyd allegedly paid commissions to Strong in exchange for consumer referrals.”
As the DOJ indictment went on to say, “Lloyd and Strong targeted vulnerable, low-income individuals experiencing homelessness, unemployment, and mental health and substance abuse disorders, and, through ‘street marketers’ working on their behalf, sometimes offered bribes to induce those individuals to enroll in subsidized ACA plans.”
These marketers allegedly coached people on how to answer questions on their applications “to maximize the subsidy amount.” They also provided addresses and Social Security numbers that did not match the customers who were supposedly applying.
IN THE NEWS: In Houston, ICE Deports Gang Member…for the Sixth Time
Lloyd and Strong allegedly used “misleading sales scripts and other deceptive sales techniques” to compel people to say that they would attempt to earn the minimum income necessary to qualify for a subsidized Obamacare plan, “even when the consumer initially projected having no income.”
“Lloyd and Strong also allegedly conspired to bypass the federal government’s attempts to verify income and other information. Lloyd and Strong allegedly engaged in the scheme to maximize the commission payments they received from insurers, resulting in their companies’ receiving millions of dollars in commissions,” the DOJ said of the Obamacare scheme.
“As alleged in the indictment, Lloyd and Strong’s scheme caused the federal government to pay at least $161,900,000 in subsidies.”
Special thanks to Warhammer’s Wife for proofreading this story before publication to make certain there were no misspellings, grammatical errors or other embarrassing mistakes and/or typos. Follow Warhammer on X @Real_Warhammer. Read Warhammer’s stories on The Hayride by clicking here.
