On July 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they are forming the DOJ-HHS False Claims Act Working Group to further combat healthcare fraud—an effort which the current administration “is fully committed to supporting.”1 The launch of this working group signals that healthcare fraud – particularly affecting certain listed areas below – is a key focus of the new administration.
Under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, any person who knowingly submits, or causes to submit, a false claim to the government may be liable for up to three times the government’s damages plus a penalty linked to inflation.2 False claims act liability may arise for other reasons, too, including for knowingly using a false record to avoid paying funds to the government (as may be the case in the underpayment of tariffs).3
For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, the DOJ obtained more than $2.9 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims.4
The DOJ-HHS False Claims Act Working Group will include representatives from the HHS Office of General Counsel, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Center for Program Integrity, the Office of Counsel to the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the DOJ’s Civil Division, with designees representing U.S. Attorney’s Offices. The HHS General Counsel, Chief Counsel to HHS-OIG, and the Deputy Assistant Attorney...
The income tax department has initiated a nationwide verification operation targeting fraudulent claims of deductions and exemptions in I-T returns. This action follows the discovery of organized r...