canchola, i'm jim axelrod with cbs news.'d like to ask you some questions about a genetic test you ordered. ee i need to have you speak to my representative. >> reporter: would you representative be able to tell us for people who say they have never met you? >> thank you. >> reporter: can i ask you if this is ethical common practice to sign test orders for people who have never met you, never noken to you, never been examined? do the names ken and judy johnson mean anything to you? and with that he was gone. >> quijano: jim axelrod reporting. dr. canchola never did give cbs news the name of his representative. in a statement, genexe health says it performed a very limited service and had no involvement in either performing tests on samples or submitting claims to the government. we have learned genexe health is under federal investigation and now medicare beneficiaries are being warned about the latest ow and trust should order and approve any requests for genetic testing." it was a terrifying scene in the er wildwood last n

jim axelrod spoke to those involved. >> it's the golden ticket for this scam. cbs news went undercover to find out how the process starts thp this woman recruits senior who is will hand over a saliva sample and medicare cards for a sample test. >> i googled senior living facilities. also church groups. >> reporter: she says she makes more than $200 per senior and that some recruiters are pulling in more than $10,000 a month. >> the genetic testing is thousands of dollars. it can be anywhere from $2500 to $10,000. >> reporter: medicare pays the lab processing the swab as long as a doctor has signed a test order. so recruiters partner with willing labs and doctors who certify the tests are medically necessary. >> we are essentially the blowing people into the labs. >> reporter: once they have secured the saliva sample, they shop it around to labs. >> reporter: bob thomas is a former federal prosecutor who now represents whistleblowers in ongoing health care fraud cases. he says scammers are luring in labs with a promise to triple their revenue. >> the biggest pro

and the scheme was first uncovered by our chief investigative correspondent jim axelrod. tonight, jim has exclusive new details on the crackdown. >> reporter: early this morning, federal agents stormed this atlanta laboratory as part of a nationwide takedown of individuals accused of running a genetic testing scam that targeted seniors. together, they allegedly billed medicare for nearly $2.1 billion in false claims. la this is one of the largest fraud schemes, and it's so large because these tests are so expensive. medicare reimburses at such a high rate. >> reporter: a cbs news investigation earlier this month discovered how the scheme sorked. seniors, like ken and judy johnson, were targeted. tar were attending an art festival, when recruiters offered a free genetic cancer test if they would submit to a cheek swab and provide their medicare number. >> i have had colon cancer. >> reporter: so this was like a blinking neon sign "step in." >> uh-huh. >> reporter: six weeks later, $19,000 worth of charges were billed to their medicare accounts, and yet for nearly a year the

jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. >> o'donnell: that's a beautiful story about sportsmanship.vening news." i'm norah o'donnell here in new york. thank you so much for watching. we'll see you right back here tomorrow. captioning sponsored by cbs my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo, comes with... 100% beef and hickory smoked bacon, plus fries and a drink all for just the change in your couch. i found the remote! try my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo. my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo, deal talk! comes with fries and a drink. all for just the change in your couch. what... mr. wigglesworth? i thought we lost you. kevin?! try my new $4.99 blt cheeseburger combo. >>> right now 7:00. >> right now at seven. a day of action. >> it is atrocious, absolutely horrible. >> hundreds take to the streets of san francisco calling for detention centers to be closed in children to be freed. >>> plus, california is taking executive action to stop teen vaping. governor gavin newsom's big plan to put an end to the deadly academic epidemic. >> reporter:?, homeless encampments are watching preside

jim axelrod, cbs news, new york. >> and that's the "overnight news" for this tuesday.the cbs broadcast center in new york city, i'm norah o'donnell. >>> this is the c"cbs overnight news." >> welcome to the "overnight news." i'm nikki battiste. 50,000 general motors workers will be back on the picket lines today, shutting down assembly lines across the midwest and south. despite a falling demand for vehicles, gm reported record profits last year. union workers want a bigger piece of that pie, and they're also demanding the carmaker reopen some of its shuttered plants. dean reynolds reports. >> we are the union. >> reporter: striking auto workers hit the picket lines today wondering who to trust. their employer, general motors, which made over $8 billion in profits last year. do you feel you're not getting a fair share in those profits? >> well, i know we're not because if we was, we wouldn't be standing here right now. >> reporter: but should they put their faith in the union leadership, currently under a federal investigation involving misuse of union dues for personal

jim axelrod spoke to one of the doctors involved in the scheme in part two of his report. d cbs news chief investigative correspondent. >> woohoo! >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> hello, big kahuna. >> good morning. good morning. we want to tell you about the other parts of this scheme. the doctors and laboratories these recruiters are partnering with to bill medicare. according to government estimates, they are potentially siphoning hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars from medicare. >> traditional care is their primary insurance -- >> reporter: the golden ticket for this scam. cbs news went undercover. this woman recruits seniors who will hand over their saliva sample and medicare cards for a genetic cancer test. >> i went on, and i googled senior living facilities. also church groups. >> reporter: she says she makes more than $200 per senior, and that some recruiters are pulling in more than $10,000 a month. >> the genetic testing is thousands of dollars. >> reporter: they pay for -- >> yes. it can be from $2,500 to $10,000. >> reporter: medicare pays the lab, pr

i'm jim axelrod with cbs news. >> quijano: why scientists are on a mission to the warming arctic to getrapped in the ice.

as jim axelrod shows us, it's tough to watch, and that's the point. >> this here, my mom got me the perfect bag for back to school. >> reporter: it starts out like any other back-to-school spot. >> these headphones are just what i need for studying. >> reporter: but it's certainly not. >> these new sneakers are just what i needed for the new year. >> this jacket is a real must- have. nshotshaperfectly clear. the idea is to create a sense of terror students and parents live with every day that their school could be next. >> these scissors really come in handy in our class. >> reporter: people at sandy hook promise have met their goal. >> i finally got my own phone to stay in touch with my mom. ( door opening ) ( footsteps ) >> reporter: it's hard. >> it's a hard watch. >> reporter: it's a hard watch. s design? >> absolutely by design. parents need to have that emotional gut-punch. >> reporter: a nonprofit founded by families of those killed at new town, their goal was to shock. nicole hockley's son dylan was among the 26 victims. >> this is what kid are experiencing today, and that's why we

jim axelrod explains how the scheme works. >> reporter: it is here, among the tents at this fort lauderdale festival, where the trouble began for ken and judy johnson. the pair of retire ease from austin, texas. >> a couple of people in there saying, come get your dna tested. >> reporter: the company, genex health billed itself as a genetic testing one-stop shop. with a cheek swab where they could learn if they had a cancer diagnosis more likely. >> i had cancer six years ago. they indicated they could give us some results if it's genetic, that it could be passed on to my children. we've got four daughters. >> and since i'm the other half of their dna, why not give them the whole picture? >> reporter: they were told medicare would foot the bill. >> point blank, won't cost you anything. >> won't cost you anything. >> reporter: results were promised in four to six weeks. that was almost a year ago. since then they have received nothing except these, a slew of charges to their medicare account. judy's account was billed more than $10,000. ken's more than 8300. >> it hits me that we've been tak

as jim axelrod shows us, it's tough to watch, and that's the point. >> this year my mom got me the perfect bag for back to school. >> reporter: it starts out like any other back to school spot. >> these head phones are just what i need for studying. >> reporter: but it's certainly not. >> this new sneaker is just what i needed for the new year. >> this jacket is a real must-have. >> reporter: the sound of gunshots makes that perfectly clear. if the idea is to create a sense of terror students and parents live with every day that their school could be next. >> scissors really come in handy in our class. >> reporter: people with sandy hook promise they have met their goal. >> i got a phone to stay in touch with my mom. >> it's hard. >> it's a hard watch. by design? >> absolutely by design. parents need to have that emotional gut punch. >> reporter: the nonprofit founded by families of those killed at newtown, their gel was to shock. nicole hockley's son dillon was among the 26 victims. >> this is what kids are experiencing today, and that's why we have to take action. >> reporter: hockley to

as jim axelrod says, those results do not come in but the bills sure do. >> i get my medicare statement00, and i think -- i mean it hits me that we've been taken. >> you've been scammed. >> that we've been scammed. >> the charges are just totally unreasonable, totally outrageous, totally wrong. >> i read the charges for test results you never received. >> correct, correct. >> you can see jim axelrod's reports tomorrow and friday on "cbs this morning." >>> originally published in the late 1930s, "life" magazine was the first periodical to tell stories primarily with pictures. while most of life's photographers were men, some pioneering women fought to get behind the lens. "cbs this morning saturday" co-host dana jacobson spoke with one of the daughters and visited an exhibit in new york that tells the story. >> now, this has very special meaning. she used you for a picture. >> she used me for a picture. ann holmes waxman's photos were taken by her mother who was a photographer at "life" magazine. >> does that surprise you she would have used you as a subject? >> yes, in a way because she

jim axelrod discovered how this scheme works. >> reporter: it here among the tents of this ft.arts festival where the trouble began for ken and judy johnson. a pair of retirees from austin, texas. >> there was a couple people in there saying come get your dna tested. >> reporter: the company genexe health called itself a one stop shop. they can find any genes if it made cancer diagnosis more likely. >> i had cancer years ago. they indicated they can give us results if its genetic if it could be passed on to my children. we've got four daughters. >> since i'm the other half hoff their dna, why not give them the whole picture. >> they were told medicare would foot the bill. >> point plank, it won't cost you anything? >> it won't cost you anything. >> results were promised four-to-six weeks, since then they've received nothing except these, a slew of charges to their medicare account. his was build more than $10,000. his more than 8300. >> it hits many ethat we have been taken. >> totally unreasonable. totally outrageous, totally wrong. >> reporter: genexe is a part of exploding c