Genetic Testing Scheme Prosecuted With New Favorite Tool: Data

The Justice Department’s recent takedown of a $2.1 billion cancer genetic testing scam shows how the government’s stepped-up use of data analytics can speed indictments for health-care fraud.

The DOJ’s investigation into a surge of unexplained Medicare claims for expensive genetic tests unfolded quickly, in six to eight months, a time period much shorter than could have been pulled off a decade ago, officials say. Federal prosecutors were alerted to the trend early this year and shut down the scheme in September. They indicted 35 people, including nine physicians.

Prosecutors say the scammers duped hundreds of thousands of mostly elderly ...