Fraudsters have raked in about $825 million in taxpayer funds in Washington, D.C., as the White House works to crack down on fraudsters stealing money from federal welfare programs.

This current revelation centers on five home healthcare companies that were used to siphon money from federal programs, according to Fox Baltimore.

Five home health care companies in Washington, D.C., received $820.5 million in taxpayer-funded Medicaid payments years after local regulators moved to terminate them from the program over “credible allegations of fraud.”

The payments were issued despite actions by D.C. officials against the companies accused of abusing the same home health care program that continued paying them, according to records reviewed by Spotlight on Maryland.

The home health care companies in question refused to answer questions for Spotlight on Maryland’s ongoing Medicaid investigation. Local regulators said some Medicaid payment suspensions were lifted following settlements and newly enforced performance requirements but did not provide specific details on those agreements.

None of the five home health care companies have been convicted of fraud.

The findings come as federal and state authorities intensify efforts to combat Medicaid fraud nationwide, including a renewed crackdown under the Trump administration.

The report noted that home healthcare fraud in D.C. dates back a decade. Maryland and D.C. law enforcement announced what they called the “largest health care fraud takedown in D.C. history” back in 2014.

Medicaid fraud schemes typically pull off their scams by exploiting the lag between state enforcement actions and automated healthcare payment systems.

The fraudsters take advantage of administrative due process delays by rapidly shifting their operations, billing for services they did not provide, and generating fake data to conceal kickback schemes.

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State agencies often pay claims quickly for those who legitimately need care. This means entities that are terminated can continue collecting disbursements before the authorities can freeze their assets.

This becomes even more of a problem when oversight agencies are lax in their enforcement. In New York, the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit repeatedly produced the lowest levels of criminal enforcement despite enjoying a $60 million budget.