The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania formed the Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Fraud Strike Force to closely target healthcare fraud in the region.
Here are the key details to know:
1. The Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Fraud Strike Force will combine the resources of the U.S.Attorney's Offices for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as the FBI, HHS and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
2. The strike force operations are part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and and the department of Health and Human Services. Since its 2007 inception, the strike force has charged more than 3,700 defendants for falsely billing Medicare for more than $14 billion.
3. “New Jersey is home to some of the best healthcare facilities and most successful pharmaceutical companies in the country,” said U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. “Unfortunately, that also means that we offer substantial targets for those who would try to defraud the healthcare system or try to profit from the misery of people battling addiction to opioids."