The Department of Justice has formed a new fraud strike force to target schemes across Arizona, Nevada and Northern California, the agency announced Thursday.
The West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force launched under DOJ's National Fraud Enforcement Division and will unite that division's fraud section with U.S. Attorney's Offices in those regions. DOJ said in the announcement that this model has proven to be a powerful tool for fraud enforcement when deployed elsewhere.
DOJ said that through the strike force approach, it's prosecuted more than 6,200 defendants in fraud cases totaling more than $45 billion.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s Fraud Division said that the agency is responding to "data showing a significant and accelerating increase in healthcare fraud across all three districts" in implementing the strike force.
“Silicon Valley has become ground zero for technology-driven healthcare fraud schemes that seek to cheat taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare,” said Craig Missakian, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, in the announcement.
“The Health Care Strike Force announced today is a powerful partnership that brings together the resources and expertise needed to detect and dismantle even the most sophisticated fraud schemes," he said.
DOJ said at the strike force will operate in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency and other key law enforcement groups. Bringing these other agencies on board underscores the need for a coordinated and aggressive approach to tackle fraud, DOJ said.
The Justice Department launched the strike force on April 7, and the effort aligns with a broader push within the Trump administration to address fraud, waste and abuse.
"This Strike Force allows for further joint actions that will prevent more criminals from lining their pockets at the expense of the American taxpayer," said Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division in the announcement. "We look forward to playing our part in this whole-of-government approach to combating these schemes.”