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(August 13, 2018)—Since inception in March 2007, the 10 Medicare Fraud Strike Force units have charged more than 3,700 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). A new force in the Newark, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania region has just been added.
The arrival of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in the Newark/Philadelphia district will serve as an additional force-multiplier and enable the DOJ to do even more of these cases in the region, where New Jersey is home to a range of health care facilities and pharmaceutical companies, according to the department.
A Medicare Fraud Strike Force represents a joint effort of law enforcement in this region, including the Health Care Fraud Unit in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section (HCF Unit), the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as law enforcement partners at the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Fraudulent activity remains a significant threat to federal health care programs’ stability and the millions of beneficiaries who rely on such programs, according to the OIG.
“Healthcare fraud schemes are driven by greed, and all American taxpayers pay the price for criminals who prey on providers and beneficiaries alike,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Prior to this announcement, the HCF Unit operated Medicare Fraud Strike Force’s in 10 cities across the U.S., including Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; Brooklyn, New York; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana; Tampa, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; and Dallas, Texas, along with a Corporate Strike Force located in Washington, D.C. The Strike Forces represent a partnership between the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and HHS-OIG.
The Regional Strike Force will be made up of prosecutors and data analysts with the HCF Unit, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and special agents with the FBI, HHS-OIG and DEA. In addition, the Regional Strike Force will work closely with other various federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, and State Medicaid Fraud Control Units. The Strike Force will focus its efforts on aggressively investigating and prosecuting cases involving fraud, waste, and abuse within our federal health care programs, and cases involving illegal prescribing and distribution of opioids and other dangerous narcotics.
In June 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar III noted the success of the Strike Force model while announcing the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action involving 601 charged defendants across 58 federal districts, including 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $2 billion in false billings. Of those charged, 162 defendants, including 76 doctors, were charged for their roles in prescribing and distributing opioids and other dangerous narcotics.
More information can be found at the Department of Justice website, here.
