On July 20, 222, the U.S. Justice Department announced it had filed criminal charges against medical professionals, clinical laboratory owners and telemedicine executives. It is claimed that by their schemes the defendant's intended to bilk Medicare out of $1.2 billion, though actual losses to the federal government were estimated at $440 million. Prosecutors stated that: "The cases announced today include charges against people who brazenly used Medicare funds to purchase luxury items, medical professionals who corruptly approved testing and equipment, and business owners who submitted false and fraudulent claims for services patients did not need." They described a newfound growing practice of "preying on patients' fear of cardiovascular disease" by duping them into unnecessary cardiovascular disease screening tests, some of which are billed out for as much as $10,000.