US federal and state authorities have charged 324 people with healthcare fraud offences, seized $245m (£180m; €208m) in cash and assets, and broken up criminal networks that collectively billed Medicare and private insurers for $14.6bn, the Department of Justice has announced. Of these claims, just $2.9bn was paid out.“This record healthcare fraud takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey on our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers,” said attorney general Pam Bondi. The previous record for a coordinated healthcare fraud operation involved $6bn in claims, she noted.Such coordinated efforts typically involve multiple fraud rings. It has become standard practice for the justice department to lay charges in several cases at once, in order to generate news coverage.1 While the current announcement involves the largest amount in false claims, it is not the biggest in terms of arrests and charges.2It does, however, include the largest single healthcare…