’Strike Force’ to target healthcare fraud in Nevada, Arizona and California

A new task force will investigate healthcare fraud cases in Nevada, Arizona and part of California, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force will combine resources from DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, and its the Health Care Fraud Section, with U.S. attorney’s offices in Nevada, Arizona and the Northern District of California, a DOJ news release said.

“Our mission as part of the West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force is to ensure Americans who need critical services are not used as pawns to make bad actors rich,” said Timothy Courchaine, U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona, in a statement.

According to the news release, “health care fraud in these districts imposes an enormous and growing burden on American taxpayers and undermines the integrity of Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. The victims are real: elderly patients denied access to legitimate care, disabled individuals whose benefits are stolen by criminal networks, and low-income families who rely on these programs for basic medical services.”

The Strike Force will building on a “foundation of recent landmark prosecutions” including the prosecution of digital health technology executives in Northern California and the dismantling of Medicaid, sober home and wound care fraud schemes in Arizona, the release said.

It will work in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other law enforcement partners, the release said.

Sigal Chattah, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada, said the Nevada office is proud to play a role.

“With each indictment and conviction, we are achieving justice for victims who were taken advantage of by these fraudsters,” Chattah said in the release. “We are committed to bringing our skill and expertise to the Justice Department’s fight against fraud.”

The Department of Justice on April 7 announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The division, according to the release, is focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people.