Fraud

Obamacare fraud ring netted nearly $2M

PHOENIX — Prosecutors have accused a one-time Arizona resident of being the ringleader of an elaborate health-care fraud that netted him and eight others nearly $2 million in bogus health-insurance claims.

Nicholas Scaffidi, 35, was charged earlier this month with fraud, money laundering and multiple counts of theft in connection with a scheme that prosecutors say began September 2014 during the first year of the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Investigators identified Scaffidi as the leader of a group that included his wife and seven accomplices, who they allege routinely visited out-of-network hospital emergency rooms with vague complaints of illnesses and demanded that doctors order a series of expensive tests.

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The suspects targeted hospitals that did not have contracts with their insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. Though an insurer typically sends payments directly to health providers that are part of its network, Blue Cross sends payment checks to the consumer’s address if they use out-of-network hospitals and doctors.