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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 7, 2017

				 Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corporation agreed to enter a guilty plea and pay a $430 million penalty for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by illegally shipping U.S.-origin items to Iran.  ZTE simultaneously reached settlements with the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for a total government payout of $892 million.  In addition, the BIS suspended an additional $300 million which ZTE will pay if it violates the settlement.  See DOJ Press Release.  The settlements relate to ZTE’s shipment of roughly $32 million worth of U.S.-origin items to Iran without obtaining the proper export licenses from the U.S. government.  The products were supplied in connection with two Iranian contracts for the installation of cellular and landline network infrastructure. Whistleblower Insider				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Trade Agreements, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 6, 2017

				 Simon Hong, owner of Los Angeles-based JH Physical Therapy Inc., was sentenced to 63 months in prison and to pay roughly $2.4 million in restitution, for his role in a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved billing for occupational therapy services that were not medically necessary and not provided.   Hong admitted billing Medicare for occupational therapy services when what were provided instead were acupuncture and massage services, not reimbursable by Medicare.  Hong further admitted directing co-conspirator therapists to falsify medical records to make it appear as if the services billed actually had been provided. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Provider Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 3, 2017

				 Rex Duruji, an unlicensed medical professional posing as a physician, was convicted for his participation in a $1.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.  The evidence presented at trial showed that Duruji posed as a physician to induce Medicare beneficiaries to sign up for fraudulent home-health services with Koby Home Health that were not actually provided and paid illegal cash kickbacks to the beneficiaries for those claims. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
													  Improper Medical Personnel, 
													  Medicare, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 2, 2017

				 Detroit-area physician Aaron Goldfein pleaded guilty for his role in a $5.4 million Medicare fraud scheme involving phony physician visits and drug prescriptions.  As part of his plea, Goldfein admitted to being part of a scheme in which his co-conspirators would hold themselves out as licensed physicians and purport to perform physician home visits and other services for Medicare beneficiaries, although these co-conspirators were not licensed to practice medicine in Michigan.  Goldfein would then bill Medicare through Tri-City Medical Center as if he himself had completed these visits.  Goldfein also admitted to being part of a scheme in which he received kickbacks in exchange for writing home health prescriptions. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Medicare, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 2, 2017

				 Miami residents Mildrey Gonzalez and Milka Alfaro pleaded guilty to fraud charges stemming from their roles in a $20 million home health care fraud scheme.  Gonzalez and Alfaro were co-owners of seven home health care agencies:  Inar Home Care Service Corp., MA Home Health Inc., Golden Home Health Care Inc., Nova Home Health Care Inc., Finetech Home Health Inc., Homestead Home Health Care LLC and Metro Dade Home Health Inc.  Gonzalez and Alfaro admitted paying bribes and kickbacks to medical professionals in return for the provision of prescriptions for home health care services and referrals of Medicare beneficiaries to their home health care agencies. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 1, 2017

				 ATCH, LLC (d/b/a G-MART) and ALI ASGHAR KHAN agreed to pay $65,000 to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service which was established to provide food to low-income individuals through approved retail food stores. DOJ (WDOK)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 1, 2017

				 Florida-based information technology company People, Technology and Processes, LLC and the company's CEO and CFO, Victor Buonamia and Nicole Buonamia, agreed to pay $320,000 to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by submitting improper invoices for work allegedly performed for the United States in support of the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by former company employee Aidan Tamer Toprakci.  He will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $64,000 from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ (MDFL)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Defense Contract Fraud, 
													  Falsifying Invoices, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
February 28, 2017

				 CH2M Hill, Inc. agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by overbilling the government under a Joint Venture Project Management Oversight Agreement with Amtrak. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Falsifying Invoices, 
													  FCA Federal, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
February 27, 2017

				 Tokyo-based Takata Corporation pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a total of $1 billion in criminal penalties stemming from the company’s conduct in relation to sales of defective airbag inflators.  According to admissions made during the course of the guilty plea, Takata carried out a scheme to defraud its customers and auto manufacturers by providing false and manipulated airbag inflator test data that made the performance of the company’s airbag inflators appear better than it actually was.  Even after the inflators began to experience repeated problems in the field, Takata executives continued to withhold the true and accurate inflator test information and data from their customers. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Auto Safety, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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