YouTube is an incredibly popular platform for video sharing. You’d be hard pressed to visit the website, type in an item of interest and not find a related video. These days, many forward-thinking business-savvy individuals have found ways to utilize YouTube for profit. And, in 2020, a nine year-old showed the rest of us how it was all done!
As Madeline Berg and Abram Brown report for Forbes.com, Ryan Kaji, with the help of his parents, Loann and Shion, became the most watched YouTuber last year. Amassing 12.2 million views, Kaji and his Texas-based family earned $29.5 million in 2020. By reviewing and playing with toys, Ryan has shown the world how to get rich using the internet’s most popular video sharing platform.
But that’s just the start, say Berg and Brown. “The bulk of his business comes from licensing deals for more than 5,000 Ryan’s World products—everything from bedroom decor and action figures to masks and walkie talkies,” they write.
Suhyan An has been charged with submitting fraudulent billings.
Perhaps, 46 year-old, Suhyan An was inspired by the success of her fellow Texans. The Houston-based chiropractor didn’t create her own videos for YouTube. However, she watched YouTube videos to educate herself for a get-rich-quick scheme. As reported by the Southern District of Texas branch of the United States Department of Justice last week, An and her medical group were charged for falsely billing for a procedure learned from watching YouTube.
According to the DoJ report, An owns and manages Campbell Medical Group PLLC and Johnson Medical Group PLLC dba Campbell Medical Clinic in the Spring Valley area of Houston. She is alleged to have fraudulently obtained over $3.9 million from the Medicare and TRICARE programs by billing for the implantation of neurostimulator electrodes.
To perform these surgical procedures, an operating room is generally required.
This is part of the reason Medicare pays thousands of dollars for the operations. However, as the complaint charges, neither An nor her clinic’s employees performed any surgery. “Instead, they allegedly applied inexpensive devices used for electro-acupuncture,” reports the DoJ, “This procedure involves inserting needles into patients’ ears with a neurostimulator taped behind the ears with an adhesive, according to the complaint.”
The lawsuit against An contends that she and her nurse practitioners learned how to apply the devices by watching YouTube videos. They also participated in trainings with sales representatives. According to the complaint, An was fully aware the devices were not billable. In fact, she is also accused of reading specific guidance from a Medicare contractor stating that Medicare did not cover the devices since they only provide acupuncture.
“The suit further claims she ignored emailed warnings from employees and outside billing companies including warnings that the devices were being labeled as ‘possible fraud,’” the report details.
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