ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL SEEKS TO INTERVENE IN FALSE CLAIMS ACT LAWSUIT AGAINST CHICAGO-AREA MEDICAL PRACTICE AND BILLING COMPANY OVER FRAUDULENT MEDICAID CLAIMS

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL SEEKS TO INTERVENE IN FALSE CLAIMS ACT LAWSUIT AGAINST CHICAGO-AREA MEDICAL PRACTICE AND BILLING COMPANY OVER FRAUDULENT MEDICAID CLAIMS

August 18, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a joint complaint in intervention alleging that the Foot & Ankle Health Care Center Ltd.; European Foot & Ankle Surgical Care Ltd.; their owner, Dr. Vadim Goshko, and billing company Atlantic Wave Holdings LLC and Atlantic Wave II LLC, knowingly submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid for podiatry services performed by Dr. Goshko using the names and national provider identifiers (NPIs) of other physicians, despite Dr. Goshko's termination from the Illinois Medicaid program.

In their complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Raoul and the DOJ allege that the defendants carried out an unlawful billing scheme through their billing vendors, first PhysicianDS (PDS) and later Atlantic Wave. The defendants also failed to advise Medicare of Goshko's termination. These schemes resulted in more than $5 million in false claims paid by Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare later revoked Dr. Goshko's privileges effective September 2022, after eventually learning of his Medicaid exclusion.

"Millions of Illinoisans rely on Medicaid for access to lifesaving and life-improving care. It is unacceptable that a provider and billing companies would submit fraudulent claims to conceal that care was administered by a doctor who was not allowed to participate in the program and providers who were not properly credentialed," Raoul said. "My office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will continue to partner with state and federal agencies to hold individuals who cheat our systems accountable."

According to the complaint, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Office of Inspector General terminated Dr. Goshko's participation in the Medicaid program in May 2019. To get around the termination and continue to bill Medicaid, the defendants allegedly directed billing personnel to submit Goshko's claims under other providers' NPIs, including podiatrists who did not render the services. Billing personnel allegedly used fake service locations inside their electronic medical records and billing system to track which services were actually performed and by which physicians while submitting claims to Medicaid and other insurers under other physicians' names. Defendants also allegedly billed for services performed by new physicians under established providers' NPIs to avoid credentialing costs.

Raoul and the DOJ allege that Atlantic Wave leadership was repeatedly notified of the fraudulent billing practices after acquiring PDS in 2020, but continued processing and submitting claims that masked the identity of the rendering providers. The complaint asserts that Atlantic Wave executives were aware that this practice was illegal but allowed it to continue, including schemes designed to avoid credentialing new physicians by billing under the NPIs of other doctors.

On July 2, 2026, Raoul's office and the DOJ notified the court that they were intervening in a lawsuit originally filed under seal by Payrhealth LLC, a successor billing company, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. After acquiring PDS, Payrhealth learned of the fraudulent conduct, terminated the Goshko entities as clients and notified the government.

The complaint from Raoul and the DOJ seeks treble damages and civil penalties under the federal False Claims Act, the Illinois False Claims Act and common-law claims for payment by mistake and unjust enrichment.

The federal and Illinois False Claims Acts permit private individuals to sue for false claims on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The acts also allow the government to intervene or take over the lawsuit, as it has done in this case, and to recover three times its damages plus civil penalties.

The public is reminded that civil allegations are accusations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Deputy Chief Melissa Guske is working on the case for Raoul's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Valerie R. Raedy is working on the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Raoul's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $12,584,776 for the federal government's 2026 fiscal year. The remaining 25%, totaling $4,194,923 for the federal government's 2026 fiscal year, is funded by the state of Illinois.