Related Pages
Government Enforcement RSS
DOJ Enforcement Actions
The is the principal federal agency authorized to enforce the laws and defend the interests of the United States. As such, it oversees the enforcement of the False Claims Act, the foundation of the American whistleblower system, as well as numerous other laws.
The agency traces its origins to the Judiciary Act of 1789 which created the Office of the Attorney General, and the 1870 Act to Establish the Department of Justice, which established the agency as “an executive department of the government of the United States” with the Attorney General as its head.
The agency is comprised of numerous divisions with the Civil Division and in some instances, the Criminal Division, overseeing investigations and prosecutions under the False Claims Act. The of the federal district where the False Claims Act case is filed also plays a key role in False Claims Act enforcement.
Below are summaries of recent DOJ settlements or successful resolutions under the False Claims Act as well as other successful prosecutions for fraud and misconduct. If you believe you have information about fraud which could give rise to a claim for a whistleblower reward, please contact us to speak with one of our experienced whistleblower attorneys.
March 7, 2019
A Missouri man who told investors that he was purchasing and reselling cattle at a profit has been sentenced to 8 years in prison and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution. Cameron Hager, who owned and operated 5A Holdings, LLC, allegedly received $4.7 million dollars from 92 investors under the pretext that he was buying herds of cattle from distressed farmers and selling them to slaughterhouses for a net return of 23-28%. Following complaints by suspicious investors, he eventually admitted to the Missouri Secretary of State's Securities Division that there were no cattle.March 7, 2019
A landlord participating in a federally funded rent subsidy program for low-income tenants has agreed to settle allegations of violating the False Claims Act. In order to receive housing assistance funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Harold Joseph Tyler of Tyler Realty Group had certified that he would not charge more rent than was agreed upon. According to a tenant who filed the qui tam complaint that launched the investigation, however, Tyler effectively charged additional rent in the form of a recurring "non-refundable deposit" of nearly $200 per month.March 7, 2019
A Connecticut-based durable medical equipment supplier, Med Tech, and its owner, Thomas Macre, Sr., have agreed to pay more than $467,000 to resolve allegations of violating the federal and state False Claims Acts. The alleged misconduct involved billing Medicaid for unprovided and medically unnecessary back braces and electrical stimulation units.March 6, 2019
Baton Holdings LLC, the successor in interest to Bankrate Inc., agreed to pay $28 million to resolve a government investigation into securities fraud committed by former Bankrate executives. According to settlement documents, the executives caused shareholders to suffer $25 million in losses by artificially inflating company earnings and making false statements to independent auditors. Two of the executives, former CFO Edward DiMaria and former VP of finance Hyunjin Lerner, were previously sentenced.March 6, 2019
A Texas woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $15 million for her role in a $50 million scheme involving healthcare fraud and money laundering. Daniela Gozes-Wagner was accused of running 28 fake medical testing facilities from 2009, and billing Medicare and Medicaid for tests that were not performed or medically necessary. As part of the scheme, she employed personnel to answer phones and prevent inspectors from entering "testing facilities" that were virtually empty.March 6, 2019
A Russian telecommunications provider agreed to pay $850 million to the U.S. resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt 91porn Act (FCPA) in seeking to win business in Uzbekistan. Over a period of eight years, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) allegedly paid at least $120 million in bribes to an Uzbek official who held sway over the country's telecommunications regulatory authority, resulting in more than $2.4 billion in company revenues. MTS also agreed to a $100 million settlement with the SEC, included within the total $850 million settlement. ; ;March 5, 2019
The United States reached a $25 million settlement against an Afghan delivery and transport subcontractor accused of violating the False Claims Act. From 2010 to 2012, Hikmat Shadman Logistics Services Company (HSLSC) and its owner, Hikmatullah Shadman, allegedly overcharged the United States millions of dollars by inflating their rates to well above those of competitors, falsifying thousands of documents, and charging for work that was never performed. In addition to the civil charges, HSLSC faced criminal charges for paying bribes to at least two U.S. service members to influence the awarding of contracts. As part of the criminal settlement, the company and its officers have agreed to seek no further business with the United States and to refrain from applying for travel visas to the United States. ;March 1, 2019
The owner of a mental health clinic in North Carolina was sentenced to 5 years in prison for submitting about $4 million in false claims and evading almost $400,000 in unpaid taxes over the course of four years. Using patient information provided to her by co-defendant Haydn Thomas, who was employed as an office manager for an oral surgeon, Catinia Denise Farrington of Durham County Mental Health and Behavioral Health Services, LLC allegedly submitted thousands of false claims to Medicaid for services that were not performed. In addition to her prison sentence, Farrington has been ordered to pay restitution of about $4 million to NC Fund for Medical Assistance and almost $400,000 to the IRS for paying personal expenses out of business accounts into which she has transferred her fraudulently obtained gains. Her co-defendant faces sentencing later this month. ;February 27, 2019
A Florida-based home health agency owner, Alexander Ros Lazo, has been sentenced to over 7 years in prison and ordered to pay $8.6 million in restitution for defrauding Medicare. In exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to his company, T.L.C. Health Services, Dos Lazo paid kickbacks to co-conspirators and caused his co-conspirators to submit billing for physical therapy services performed by an unlicensed practitioner, Misleady Ibarra. Along with Ros Lazo. Ibarra has been sentenced to 2 years in prison; the amount she will pay in restitution is still to be determined.