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DOJ Enforcement Actions

					
The Department of Justice 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 U.S. Attorneys Office 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 27, 2023

				 Laboratory Corporation of America (“Labcorp”) has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a lawsuit by former employee Donna Hecker-Gross, who alleged that Labcorp overbilled the Department of Defense for genetic tests performed by a third party.  Under a 2012 contract, Labcorp was to perform laboratory testing for military treatment facilities worldwide, but certain specialized tests would be performed by subcontractor GeneDx.  However, when billing the Department of Defense for tests performed by GeneDx, LabCorp allegedly overcharged for them, double or triple billed for them, or billed for them even in the absence of evidence the tests were ever performed.  For initiating a successful enforcement action, Hecker-Gross will receive a $357,000 relator’s share.  USAO MD				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Contract Non-Compliance, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Government Procurement Fraud, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Laboratory and IDTF, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 24, 2023

				 Michael Alan Stollery, the CEO and founder of purported cryptocurrency investment platform Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services Inc. (“TBIS”), has been sentenced to over 4 years in prison.  According to the DOJ, Stollery failed to register TBIS’s ICO with the SEC and falsified information on TBIS’s website and white papers, including information about TBIS’s prospects for profitability, client testimonials, and business relationships.  Additionally, he misappropriated client funds to pay off personal expenses.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Cryptocurrency, 
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
													  Misrepresentations, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 23, 2023

				 A Maryland man named John Erasmus Frimpong has been sentenced to 9.5 years in prison and, along with his co-defendants, ordered to pay almost $17.5 million in restitution for operating a $28 million Ponzi scheme through a purported wealth management company called 1st Million LLC.  As part of his plea agreement, Frimpong admitted to making false and misleading statements to investors, including statements regarding the experience, training, and licensure of the company’s principals, the existence of a “trust” through which investors’ principles would be protected and returned in full, the investment’s rates of return, and the source of payments to investors.  USAO MD				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
													  Misrepresentations, 
													  Ponzi Schemes, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 22, 2023

				 The owner of a Florida-based insurance company has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding customers of $4.8 million.  For over seven years, John Thomas of Thomas Insurance, LLC diverted customer insurance premiums to his personal accounts but failed to actually open insurance policies for customers.  He then regularly produced fraudulent documents to customers, referencing their nonexistent policies, in order to conceal his actions.  USAO NDFL				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 20, 2023

				 Acute care hospital Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center, Inc. (“DCMC”) and radiology imaging practice Diagnostic Imaging Associates, LLC (“DIA”) have agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations of defrauding federal healthcare programs.  Because DCMC’s outpatient cancer screening facility was not enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid and was thus not eligible for reimbursements, it entered into a written agreement with DIA whereby DIA would bill the programs for services performed by DIA as well as DCMC’s outpatient cancer screening facility, in violation of program rules and the False Claims Act.  The alleged misconduct occurred between 2010 and 2020.  USAO MD				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Medicaid, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Provider Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 17, 2023

				 A man in New York who laundered millions of dollars of criminal proceeds from a panoply of illegal schemes—including computer hacking, healthcare fraud, loan fraud involving Small Business Administration (SBA) funds, and operating an unlicensed international money transmitting business—has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.  According to the DOJ, Djonibek Rahmankulov worked with computer hackers to gain control of U.S. bank accounts, then executed millions of dollars of fraudulent wire transfers into accounts controlled by him and his associates.  He also worked with pharmacies to launder millions of dollars of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for HIV medications that were not actually dispensed or legally obtained.  During the pandemic, Rahmankulov submitted fraudulent applications to the SBA for his companies, laundered the proceeds, and made false statements to financial institutions regarding his activities.  Finally during his trial, he repeatedly sought to obstruct justice by threatening a witness and producing fraudulent letters of support from the community.  USAO SDNY				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
													  Government Programs Fraud, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Medicaid, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Money Laundering, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 3, 2023

				 Florida-based Lakeland Regional Medical Center (“LRMC”) has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve False Claims allegations of making improper non-bona fide donations to Florida’s Polk County in order to free up funds and increase the center’s reimbursements from Medicaid.  The donations involved paying off some of the county’s financial obligations to other healthcare providers, so the reimbursements that LRMC received were effectively funded by their own donations.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Medicaid, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 9, 2023

				 A former Malaysia-based Goldman Sachs investment banker has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for being involved in a massive bribery and money-laundering scheme involving Malaysia’s state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).  In order to obtain and retain lucrative business for Goldman Sachs, Roger Ng and co-conspirators at Goldman Sachs misappropriated billions of dollars from 1MDB, which they used to pay bribes to 12 government officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.  Proceeds from the scheme were then laundered through the U.S. financial system.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Bribery and Bid-Rigging, 
													  Criminal Proceedings, 
													  FCPA, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 2, 2023

				 Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (“Ericsson”) has agreed to pay $206 million for breaching a 2019 Deferred Prosecution Agreement that was signed to settle allegations that the Swedish telecommunications company used third-party agents to bribe government officials in China, Djibouti, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Vietnam, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  Under the terms of the 2019 DPA, Ericsson agreed to pay a $520 million criminal penalty and comply with certain conditions.  However, Ericsson was found to have failed to disclose additional information relating to its conduct in China and Djibouti, as well as promptly report conduct in Iraq that may constitute another violation of the FCPA.  USAO SDNY				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Bribery and Bid-Rigging, 
													  FCPA, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
February 28, 2023

				 Seven defendants who previously pleaded guilty to defrauding a federal program that provides technology to underprivileged schools has been sentenced to up to 4 years in prison each and ordered to pay up to $1 million each in restitution.  Four of the defendants—Peretz Klein, Susan Klein, Ben Klein, and Sholem Steinberg—misrepresented themselves and their companies as vendors to schools participating in the federal E-Rate program, receiving over $14 million in federal funds even though they failed to provide much of the equipment ordered.  Two other defendants—Simon Goldbrener and Moshe Schwartz—misrepresented themselves as consultants who helped schools participate in the E-Rate program, when in fact, they took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from the above vendors to circumvent the bidding process.  A final defendant, Aron Melber, was a school official who falsely certified to having obtained E-Rate-funded equipment and services through a fair and open bidding process.  USAO SDNY				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Bribery and Bid-Rigging, 
													  Certifications, 
													  Education Fraud, 
													  Government Programs Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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