{"slug": "nurse-charged-in-massive-healthcare-fraud-spent-money-on-594000-ferrari-doj", "title": "Nurse charged in massive healthcare fraud spent money on $594,000 Ferrari: DOJ", "summary": "A Las Vegas nurse practitioner, Marizel Yukee, was charged in a $906 million healthcare fraud scheme that used stolen funds to buy a $594,000 Ferrari and an $865,000 necklace. The Department of Justice announced charges against 455 people in a nationwide crackdown on medical fraud totaling $6.5 billion in false claims. Yukee allegedly targeted elderly and terminally ill Medicare patients through mobile wound clinics, billing for unnecessary procedures and falsifying records.", "body_md": "# Nurse charged in massive healthcare fraud spent money on $594,000 Ferrari: DOJ\n\nThe Department of Justice has charged 455 people accused of medical fraud schemes worth a combined $6.5 billion\n\n- Bookmark\n\nA [Las Vegas](/travel/north-america/usa/las-vegas-cheap-deals-tips-b2791796.html) nurse practitioner charged in a massive [healthcare](/topic/healthcare) fraud scheme used the funds to purchase a $594,000 Ferrari and a $865,000 necklace, according to prosecutors.\n\nMarizel Yukee was charged in connection with an alleged $906 million scheme to defraud Medicare and TRICARE. Prosecutors announced the charges as part of a [sweeping crackdown on alleged healthcare fraud](/news/world/americas/us-politics/healthcare-fraud-crackdown-doj-jason-finkelstein-b3001719.html) across the country involving more than 450 defendants.\n\nYukee, 49, is accused of targeting elderly [Medicare](/life-style/health-and-families/medicare-ai-deny-approve-medical-claims-b2913896.html) patients using four mobile wound clinics she owned in four different states. Many of those targeted were terminally ill and in hospice care, the indictment claims.\n\nAssets valued at approximately $35.2 million were seized as part of the investigation, including a Ferrari 296 GTS and seven other vehicles as well as jewelry, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas [said in a statement](https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/nine-charged-sdtx-part-national-health-care-fraud-takedown).\n\nDr Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, [shared a picture of Yukee on X claiming she](https://x.com/DrOzCMS/status/2069821863753064658) lived a “lavish lifestyle” while spending taxpayer money.\n\n“Her actions were a systematic plunder of our healthcare safety net at the expense of our most vulnerable citizens,” he claimed.\n\nYukee’s attorney Justo A. Méndez told [ The Wall Street Journal ](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/what-to-know-about-the-governments-6-5-billion-healthcare-fraud-crackdown-35fb88d1?eafs_enabled=false)his client is “presumed innocent unless and until the government proves otherwise.”\n\nIn the [indictment](https://prod-i.a.dj.com/public/resources/documents/yukee-indictment.pdf) filed June 18, prosecutors allege Yukee bought a “million-dollar home” in [Hawaii](/travel/north-america/usa/best-hawaii-beaches-b2850206.html) through the fraud scheme and helped to fund a $4.6 million beach resort in the Philippines.\n\nThe scheme allegedly involved her billing Medicare and TRICARE for medically unnecessary amniotic wound allografts that were procured through illegal kickbacks and bribes.\n\nThe scheme resulted in unnecessary and expensive allografts being applied to patients’ wounds without attempting, completing or conforming conservative wound care treatment, prosecutors said.\n\nAllografts were said to have been applied to infected wounds, to wounds that had already healed and to wounds that were not responding to the allografts.\n\nYukee is further accused of falsifying patient medical records to make it appear as though the application of the allografts was medically reasonable, necessary and met [Medicare](/news/world/americas/us-politics/medicare-medicaid-ozempic-weight-loss-coverage-b2800423.html) requirements.\n\nThe nurse practitioner has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, offering, paying, soliciting and receiving illegal healthcare kickbacks and transactional money laundering.\n\nThe wider healthcare fraud crackdown has resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 [doctors](/topic/doctors) and other licensed medical professionals, prosecutors said.\n\nThose charged allegedly took part in schemes involving healthcare fraud and opioid abuse involving $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm, including death.\n\n*The Independent *has contacted Yukee’s attorney for comment.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/nurse-charged-in-massive-healthcare-fraud-spent-money-on-594000-ferrari-doj", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/healthcare-fraud-scheme-doj-marizel-yukee-b3005948.html", "published_at": "2026-06-30 16:10:19+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-30 16:28:19.523976+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Marizel Yukee", "Department of Justice", "Medicare", "TRICARE", "Ferrari", "Mehmet Oz", "Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services", "Justo A. 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