Texas AG Secures Nearly $34 Million Settlement with Pharmaceutical Company, Reinforcing Active Ongoing THFPA Enforcement
The Texas Attorney General (“Texas AG”) recently announced a settlement with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP (“AstraZeneca”) for $33,998,000 to resolve allegations under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act (“THFPA”) arising from the company’s nurse educator program and nurse and patient support programs. See State ex rel. SCEF, LLC v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, No. D-1-GN-25-011002 (250th Dist. Ct., Travis County, transferred Dec. 18, 2025). This settlement is the latest in a series of actions by the Texas AG that demonstrate the office’s focus on large healthcare corporations and aggressive deployment of the THFPA, as discussed here. (more…)
HHS-OIG Decertifies New York Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Escalating Federal Scrutiny of State Medicaid Fraud Enforcement
The Administration has taken another significant step in its effort to increase pressure on state Medicaid Fraud Control Units (“MFCUs”). On July 2, 2026, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”) denied recertification of New York’s MFCU and suspended its federal funding effective July 1. The decision follows the Administration’s announcements earlier this year that it would closely scrutinize state MFCU performance, including through funding consequences for states perceived as failing to aggressively investigate and prosecute Medicaid fraud, which we previously covered here. (more…)
In House Hearing, DAAG Jenny Discusses FCA Enforcement Priorities Related to Grants, Faces Questioning on Using FCA to Target Discrimination
On June 24, 2026, the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing on “Federal Research Funds: The False Claims Act’s Role in Combating Grant Fraud.” Brenna Jenny, DOJ’s Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Commercial Litigation, testified on three FCA enforcement “focus areas” related to federal grants, before responding to questions regarding the use of the statute to target discrimination.
DOJ Reaches $507,144 Settlement with Defense Contractor, Signals Increased FCA Scrutiny of Cybersecurity Self-Assessments
On June 18, 2026, DOJ announced a settlement with LOGZONE Inc., a defense contractor, to pay $507,144 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act through its failure to satisfy cybersecurity requirements in its contracts with the Department of the Navy (“the Navy”). This settlement involves yet another coordinated enforcement effort through the recently created Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, previously reported on here and here. DOJ reached this settlement with assistance from the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Army, and the Defense Contract Management Agency (“DCMA”). This settlement underscores cybersecurity compliance as a focus of FCA enforcement.
DOJ Announces Accelerated Review of FCA Qui Tams Alleging Fraud Against State-Administered Benefits Programs
It is not business as usual at DOJ. In the latest announcement related to the Department’s efforts to fight alleged fraud, on May 27, 2026, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate issued a memorandum directing DOJ’s Civil Division and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to accelerate the review of qui tams alleging fraud against federally funded state-administered benefits programs, including programs involving housing, food assistance, medical care, and cash assistance. The memorandum, titled “Accelerating Review and Enhancing Enforcement in Benefits Fraud Matters,” implements President Trump’s March 2026 Executive Order establishing the “Task Force to Eliminate Fraud,” which we reported on here, and which directed the Department to take appropriate action to promote “meritorious” qui tams and to complete investigations sooner, including within the 60-day statutory period.
Vice President and CMS Announce Suite of New Administrative Actions to Further Federal Anti-Fraud Health Care Initiatives
Last week, the White House and CMS announced a set of new administrative actions to further the Administration’s anti-fraud mission, including in particular CMS’s CRUSH (Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare) initiative, announced earlier this year. At a May 13, 2026 press conference, Vice President J.D. Vance, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, and CMS Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Kim Brandt outlined measures designed not only to identify and prevent fraud, but also to pressure states and their Medicaid Fraud Control Units (“MFCUs”) to take a more active enforcement role.
DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division Launches West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force
In a further sign that healthcare fraud enforcement remains a top Department of Justice (“DOJ”) priority, on April 30, 2026, the National Fraud Enforcement Division ( “Fraud Division”) announced the launch of the West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force (“West Coast Strike Force”). While the Fraud Division was itself newly created, this latest news is of a piece with the traditional model and enforcement approach of DOJ’s dedicated health care fraud team going back to 2007. Nationally, since its inception, the HCF Strike Force program has been responsible for the prosecution of over 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion.
E.D. Pa. Rejects Indefinite Sealing of FCA Extension Materials, Emphasizing Narrow Purpose of Seal
A recent decision from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania provides an important procedural win for defendants and a reminder that the False Claims Act’s seal provision is not intended to provide indefinite confidentiality. In United States ex rel. Compton v. HCR ManorCare, Inc., the court ordered the unsealing of close to 50 ex parte motions that the United States filed to extend the statutory 60-day seal period to close to ten years, while it investigated the complaints and decided whether to intervene.
DOJ Announces FOCUS Initiative to Work with Data Miners Filing Qui Tams
As we previously reported here, record numbers of cases are being filed by “whistleblowers” under the FCA—approximately 1,300 qui tam suits last year alone. This morning, Brenna Jenny, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, announced at a conference that much of the surge in qui tam complaints is being driven not by insiders, but by entities set up to mine publicly available government data sets. That is putting pressure on DOJ’s Civil Fraud Section, tasked with investigating qui tam allegations. In order to address the challenge, Jenny announced the Fraud Oversight through Careful Use of Statistics (FOCUS) initiative, which presents an opportunity for data miners to meet with the Civil Fraud Section to explain the reliability of their data. Though not a pre-filing requirement, data miners who choose to participate “should be prepared to explain what differentiates their approach, how they validate their findings, and why their methodology provides a reliable basis for identifying high-quality, actionable False Claims Act matters.” DOJ’s announcement of the FOCUS initiative makes clear that “the Department will prioritize working with data miners that have demonstrated an investment in pre-filing diligence and commitment to analytical rigor, familiarity with program rules, and legally sufficient allegations.” It will be interesting to see whether the Department increases its exercise of authority to dismiss qui tam suits brought by data miners that cannot so demonstrate.
DOJ Announces First FCA Settlement Resolving Title VII Discrimination Allegations
Last week, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a more than $17 million settlement with IBM to resolve allegations that the company violated the FCA by defying “anti-discrimination requirements as set forth in Title VII.” This is the first settlement to emerge from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, on which we previously reported here and here. Unveiled May 19, 2025, the Initiative aims to use the FCA to pursue claims against federal funding recipients that allegedly violate civil rights laws via “racist preferences, mandates . . . and activities”—including where those violations occurred in the context of companies operating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Notably, as we reported here, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General of DOJ’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Brenna Jenny, used an address at the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Conference last February to stress DOJ’s commitment to enforcement premised on such discrimination.