This week, the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division continued to advance its mission to fight fraud and protect taxpayers.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald, along with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, and FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia, announced unprecedented charges against 15 defendants for Medicaid fraud schemes. The defendants allegedly participated in various schemes to defraud federal benefit programs totaling over $90 million in intended loss. The charges included the two largest Medicaid fraud cases ever charged in Minnesota and first-of-their-kind charges for certain Medicaid programs.
While in Minnesota, Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald also announced the expansion of the Health Care Fraud Midwest Strike Force, bringing additional law enforcement resources to prosecute fraud in Minnesota, and the hiring of 15 additional prosecutors dedicated to combating Medicaid fraud nationwide.
“This is just the beginning,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald at the announcement. “With the support of President Trump, Vice President Vance, Acting Attorney General Blanche, Chairman Ferguson and the White House Anti-Fraud Task Force, Secretary Kennedy, Dr. Oz and his team, and the entire federal fraud-fighting apparatus, the Department of Justice will continue expanding our reach across the country to pursue all fraud, no matter how large, no matter how small, no matter how hard.”
Other top highlights from the fight against fraud this week include the following enforcement actions.
Health Care Fraud
In Brooklyn, a defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his participation in a $2 billion international health care fraud conspiracy.
Benefits Program Fraud
In Idaho, a jury convicted a man whose true identity remains unknown for theft of government funds and other crimes for using the identity of a long-deceased man to receive Social Security and other benefits. For more than two decades, the Defendant used the deceased individual’s name and identity to fraudulently obtain numerous government benefits totaling approximately $283,000.
A school district board member pleaded guilty in federal court for her role in a wire fraud scheme that defrauded the school district out of $385,000.
The United States obtained a court order authorizing the recovery of nearly $30 million in restitution related to a $63 million scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program.
A Michigan jury convicted a nurse and home health care agency nurse for operating a $1.6 million scheme to defraud Medicare. From 2018 through 2021, the defendant bribed a nurse at a Detroit hospital to give the defendant their confidential records, which were used to unlawfully bill Medicare.
Government Fraud
A man pleaded guilty to a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $229.6 million in loans and properties. Ultimately, he defaulted on the loans, or the loan balances substantially exceeded the value of the underlying collateral, resulting in approximately $94.4 million in losses to lenders, including the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that it collected over $4.4 million in civil and criminal actions in Fiscal Year 2025. Among others, the office collected over $320,000 of restitution and fines from a defendant convicted of federal income tax evasion.
In West Virginia, a man pleaded guilty to theft of public money for fraudulently cashing U.S. treasury checks at businesses in West Virginia and Maryland totaling over $14,000. The defendant faces up to 10 years in prison and owes approximately $14,000 in restitution.
A man pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and other charges for depositing stolen and altered U.S. Treasury checks into bank accounts he opened in the name of a shell company. In total, the defendant stole or laundered more than $1.2 million in government funds.
Tax Fraud
A defendant was sentenced to 65 months in prison for his participation in an extensive COVID-19 employment tax credit fraud scheme. Members of the conspiracy filed numerous false tax returns, claiming over $3.4 million in tax refunds. The defendant and his co-conspirators were ordered to pay over $1.8 million in restitution.
Trade Fraud
An engineer for an Illinois company was sentenced to federal prison for trade fraud, counterfeiting, and other fraud schemes.
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On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.