Justice Department Secures Six Healthcare Fraud Convictions Totaling $1.1 Billion in Under Three Weeks

The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Healthcare Fraud Unit secured federal jury trial convictions in six trials between May 13 and June 1, the department announced on June 4.

The convictions, reached in federal courtrooms in Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Detroit, New York and Nashville, involve more than $1.1 billion in alleged healthcare fraud and span six distinct categories of healthcare fraud. The cases were prosecuted in five federal districts.

The unit is one of the most active white-collar litigating components inside the Justice Department. The six convictions were obtained in just under three weeks.

The development triggers sentencing proceedings in each of the six cases under federal sentencing guidelines that require judges to consider the full scope of financial loss, number of victims and sophistication of the schemes. Convicted defendants now face mandatory restitution obligations and potential exclusion from federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Prosecutors must next prepare detailed loss-amount submissions and victim-impact statements before each sentencing hearing.

This is the latest announcement from the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Healthcare Fraud Unit, which has maintained a high volume of trial work in healthcare fraud matters. The convictions follow a pattern of the unit targeting multiple fraud typologies simultaneously across geographically dispersed federal districts.

Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice