essionals, with numerous healthcare fraud and opioid abuse schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in false claims.

 Healthcare fraud causes billions of dollars in losses to the federal government and private insurers and all too often involves the exploitation of patients through unnecessary or unsafe medical tests and procedures,  Boutros said in a statement.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office has also charged 17 people from Illinois with different healthcare fraud schemes.

Charles Berry, 46, of Chicago, is accused of submitting false claims to the Illinois Department of Human Services for services that were not provided under the Home Services Program, which serves people with severe disabilities in their home.

Donald Johnson, 50, and Brittany Lofton, 25, both from Chicago, are also charged in separate schemes with making false claims to the Home Services Program. Both are accused of submitting claims that overlap with dates and times that the intended recipient was either admitted to a long-term care facility or a hospital.

Physician and pharmacy owner Mohammad Khamis, 57, of River Forest, is accused of working with Amro Abdel-Fattah, 45, of Lombard, to submit more than $1 million in false claims for pharmaceutical prescriptions that were never filled or not legally prescribed.