Civil Fraud
attorneys litigate many of the Division's cases that have the highest monetary
stakes. Working with the U.S. Attorneys' offices, Branch attorneys recover
hundreds of millions of dollars each year from individuals and corporations
who have defrauded the government through federal contracts, Medicare and other
federal health insurance programs, subsidies, grants, and loans ‑‑ wherever
the government's money is at stake. A primary source for the section's cases
are actions filed by whistle‑blowers pursuant to the qui tam provisions
of the False Claims Act.
Example
of our practice
HCA (formerly Columbia/HCA), the largest for-profit hospital
chain in the country, has been the subject of one of the most significant health
care fraud investigations ever launched by the Government. DOJ attorneys pursued
Government initiated claims as well as numerous qui tam actions in multi-district
litigation alleging that HCA had fraudulently billed Medicare and other federal
health insurance programs for outpatient laboratory, inpatient, and home health
services; had inflated hospital cost reports; and had paid illegal kickbacks.
The Government reached a partial settlement with HCA in December 2000 for $745
million. In December 2002, HCA tentatively agreed to pay an additional $631
million to resolve its outstanding liability to the Government.