Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Chicago Creates New Section Devoted Entirely to Healthcare Fraud
As we have previously covered, the Department of Justice on the whole has clearly renewed its focus on healthcare fraud, last month announcing the largest healthcare fraud takedown in U.S. history. Recently, it was announced by U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros that he has created a new Healthcare Fraud Section in the Northern District of Illinois, which will consist of six federal prosecutors tasked with prosecuting defendants engaged in any kind of healthcare fraud. According to the press release accompanying the announcement, the Section will handle all types of healthcare fraud, including but not limited to, “false and fraudulent claims submitted by transnational criminal organizations to America’s health insurance programs; upcoding and unbundling schemes; scams by providers and individuals against Medicare and Medicaid; fraudulent billing; and illegal kickbacks” among others. These prosecutors will work with various federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with state and local agencies in their investigations and prosecutions.
Highlighting his offices’ renewed focus on the area of enforcement, U.S. Attorney Boutros remarked that, “Since becoming U.S. Attorney, my Office has charged nearly $2 billion in healthcare fraud schemes involving alleged criminal conduct that has stretched across the country, and even transnationally. The newly created Healthcare Fraud Section that I’ve launched will bring greater focus, efficiency, and impact to our efforts in this important program area, which often involves the exploitation of patients through unnecessary and/or unsafe medical tests and procedures.” The Section will work closely with the Healthcare Fraud Strike Force, which is housed in the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office but is part of the nationwide Fraud Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division praised the office’s past endeavors saying that, “The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office has been an exceptional partner and our Health Care Fraud Unit Strike Force in the district is excited to partner with this new unit to increase our collective reach and enhance our ability to protect the American public from health care fraud.” Devoting a large amount of resources and experienced prosecutors to combat health care offenses will undoubtedly lead to investigations, target letters, and criminal charges throughout the Chicagoland area as prosecutors work to uncover alleged wrongdoing and crimes in the medical and related health care industries. If you receive a target letter from the federal government, are approached by federal agents, or otherwise think you are subject to investigation for a healthcare related crime, immediately contact an experienced defense attorney who can protect your interests throughout the investigation process that can be riddled with complexities, that can make the difference between being criminal charged or not. Moreover, if you have been arrested and charged as part of a healthcare fraud or related offense, do not take a gamble with your representation and hire the best defense attorney your resources allow so they can protect your freedom and minimize the damage resulting from a complicated federal healthcare fraud prosecution.
