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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.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
May 3, 2023

				 Zeus Lines Management S.A., chief engineer Roberto Cayabyab Penaflor, and Captain Ervin Mahigne Porquez pleaded guilty to environmental law violations, admitting to discharging oily bilge directly into the ocean while bypassing the onboard pollution prevention equipment and failing to report a hazardous condition on board the oil tanker Galissas. In violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, Penaflor ordered the engine room crew to discharge 9,544 gallons of oily bilge directly into the ocean and instructed them to hide this information from the U.S. Coast Guard during inspections. Additionally, Porquez violated the Ports and Waterways Safety Act for failing to report that the Galissas’ inert gas system was inoperable, causing the vessel’s cargo tanks’ oxygen level to reach as dangerously high as 17%, where 8% is the highest allowed. Zeus will pay $2.25 million total, which includes a community service payment of $562,500 and a fine of $1,687,500.  DOJ, USAO RI				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 27, 2023

				 Adela Cruz, of Uvalde County, TX, will spend 27 months in prison and will pay $129,239 in restitution for willfully assisting clients in the preparation and filing of their IRS tax returns. Cruz inflated her clients’ refunds by claiming false education credits, dependents, and business profits or losses, and concealed her involvement by using fake taxpayer emails on the filings. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Tax Credit and Deduction Fraud, 
													  Tax Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 27, 2023

				 Gary James Harmon will spend 51 months in prison for stealing 712 bitcoin subject to forfeiture. Gary’s brother, Larry Dean Harmon, operated a cryptocurrency money laundering service on the darknet, with large amounts of said money coming from darknet markets. Knowing the government was attempting to seize Larry’s crypto, Gary transferred the $4.8 million in bitcoin to his own accounts, using Larry’s credentials to effectuate the transfer. DOJ, USAO DC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Cryptocurrency, 
													  Money Laundering, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 26, 2023

				 Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato will spend 51 months and 36 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in the “We Build The Wall” fundraising scheme. Kolfage, Badolato, and others raised over $25 million in donations from folks bound by their passion for walls and hatred of their fellow humans. Kolfage and Badolato lined their pockets with the funds, despite assuring the public that they wouldn’t take any of the funds for their personal use. Both pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the Southern District of New York, and Kolfage pled guilty to tax and wire fraud charges in the Northern District of Florida, as well. USAO SDNY, USAO NDFL				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Tax Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 25, 2023

				 British American Tobacco and its subsidiary BAT Marketing Singapore, will pay penalties totaling more than $629 million for doing business with North Korea, despite stating it was no longer selling tobacco in North Korea, and in violation of the bank fraud statute and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Through this scheme, BAT and BATMS utilized a third party in Singapore to surreptitiously route sales to North Korea. USAO DC, DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 25, 2023

				 Attorneys George Constantine and Marc Elefant, and orthopedic surgeon Andrew Dowd, were sentenced to prison for their $31 million trip-and-fall fraud scheme. Constantine (102 months), Elefant (24 months), and Dowd (102 months) recruited participants to stage falls or falsely claim to have fallen and would then file fraudulent suits against the businesses and insurance companies where the “falls” allegedly occurred. In addition to staging the accidents and then filing suit, Constantine and Elefant would require the “victims” to receive ongoing chiropractic and medical treatment from certain designated chiropractors and doctors—including Dowd. Dowd performed nearly 300 medically unnecessary surgeries on patient-clients, at the behest of Constantine and Elefant, who then used the surgeries to boost the value of any potential settlement. In addition to prison time, they will forfeit over $8 million acquired via their fraud. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Chiropractic, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Provider Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 21, 2023

				 Michael Zeto, in coordination with foreign telemarketers, used elderly American consumers’ banking information to create fraudulent checks payable to companies he controlled. The multimillion-dollar scheme will net him up to 20 years in prison. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 21, 2023

				 Keith Alan Seguin, an Air Force civilian employee, will spend 188 months in prison and pay over $39 million in restitution to the Air Force, Army and General Services Administration, and the IRS, and forfeit over $2.3 million that he received in bribe money for colluding with others to evade competition and steer $100 million in government Air Force projects to them. Seguin was charged with making a false income tax return and for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. USAO WDTX				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Bribery and Bid-Rigging, 
													  Criminal Proceedings, 
													  Defense Contract Fraud, 
													  Government Procurement Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 20, 2023

				 Matthew Taylor Witkowski will spend 60 months in prison for generating and purchasing fraudulent written orders for DME, and then, using his Dominican Republic-based business, marketed and sold those orders to pharmacies and DME suppliers. Witkowski’s fraud resulted in more than $8 million in false claims reimbursements being made by Medicare. Witkowski will forfeit over $4 million and pay restitution of over $8 million to Medicare. SDNY				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medical Devices and DME, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Provider Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 20, 2023

				 Dr. Paul S. Koch, Koch Eye Associates, and Claris Vision violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to optometrists who referred their patients to Koch and his companies for laser-assisted cataract surgery. Over a five-year period, from 2013 to 2017, Koch and his practices submitted false claims to Medicare based on those kickbacks. Koch will pay nearly $1.2 million to resolve the qui tam whistleblowers’ claims, and the two whistleblowers will receive $256,534.84 from the settlement. USAO RI				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Provider Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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