close
Video
WATCH LIVE: Justice Department unveils major health care fraud crackdown
Trump administration officials announce new charges and an anti-fraud initiative designed to strengthen investigations and protect taxpayer-funded health care programs
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
EXCLUSIVE:The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it is expanding its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to Philadelphia as federal and state authorities target alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraud involving home health care services
The expansion will establish a strike force office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and bring together the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district
In connection with the announcement, federal and Pennsylvania authorities charged 19 defendants accused of participating in schemes involving more than $4 million in claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid, according to a DOJ release obtained by Fox News. The defendants include home health care company owners, employees, purported aides and Medicaid recipients
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday also announced a plea agreement involving the final defendant in a previously charged 21-defendant case tied to more than $1.7 million in claims
LETITIA JAMES HAMMERED AFTER NY MEDICAID FRAUD UNIT FUNDING FROZEN OVER INEFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT
The Justice Department announced an expansion of the Fraud Division’s Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to Philadelphia.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg
“The Fraud Division’s expansion into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania brings enhanced federal reth care fraud enforcement,” the DOJ said. “The partnership between the Fraud Division and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will uniquely enable law enforcement to combat criminals who hide behind corporations to commit fraud.”
The cases include allegations that home health aides billed Medicaid for services while they were incarcerated, hospitalized, working other jobs or traveling overseas. In another case, prosecutors said a Medicaid recipient claimed to require extensive home health assistance while also working as a carpenter
The Northeast Strike Force will work in partnership with the HHS Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the DEA and other law enforcement agencies
Other defendants allegedly submitted overlapping or impossible work hours, including claims exceeding 24 hours of care in a single day, according to the release. One home health care agency and its owners were also charged with allegedly billing Medicaid for false clock-ins and clock-outs
DOJ CHARGES 10 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DEFENDANTS IN LARGEST FEDERAL HEALTHCARE FRAUD CRACKDOWN IN US HISTORY
“The Strike Force’s expansion makes clear that the Fraud Division will use every available legal tool to identify, investigate, and prosecute offenses against the American people,” the DOJ said
President Donald Trump has been deeply critical of federal healthcare fraud since a massive scandal was exposed in Minnesota.(Photo by Alex Wong/
The Philadelphia office will work with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the DEA and other law enforcement agencies
The DOJ said the expansion follows recent additions to the strike force program in California, Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts and Minnesota, as well as two national health care fraud enforcement actions involving more than $15 billion in alleged losses in 2025 and more than $6 billion in alleged losses in 2026
