On April 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of the West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to target health care fraud in Silicon Valley. Specifically, the strike force unites the District of Arizona, District of Nevada and Northern District of California Health Care Fraud Divisions.
Background
The Health Care Strike Force program is a traditional DOJ enforcement model that adds resources from other federal Districts to supplement the enforcement target. The Health Care Strike Force has become a formidable enforcement tool, with similar Strike Forces across the country prosecuting more than 6,200 defendants involved in schemes that generated over $45 billion in health care billings.
Impact
The DOJ is hyper-focused on enforcing health care fraud, and its creation of this task force signals that it believes Silicon Valley is “ground zero for technology-driven health care enforcement schemes.” By creating this task force, the government has pooled resources from two other U.S. Attorneys’ offices and relevant law enforcement agencies, including HHS-OIG, FBI and DEA. This allows the DOJ to build cases based on data analytics alongside the usual sources of traditional data mining, whistleblowers and tips. This will likely lead to more criminal investigations, False Claims Act investigations and other enforcement consequences for the health care industry. It is important for health care companies that operate or sell products on the West Coast to assess their current compliance programs.
Practical Takeaways
- DOJ Launches West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force: The DOJ announced its creation of a strike force to target health care fraud on the West Coast.
- Health Care Companies Should Assess Current Compliance Programs: Health care companies that operate or sell on the West Coast should assess current compliance programs to determine the level of risk.
If you have questions or would like more information about this topic, please contact:
- David Honig at dhonig@hallrender.com or (317) 977-1447;
- Kennedy Bunch at kbunch@hallrender.com or (317) 977-1420; or
- Your primary Hall Render contact.
Hall Render blog posts and articles are intended for informational purposes only. For ethical reasons, Hall Render attorneys cannot—outside of an attorney-client relationship—answer specific questions that would be legal advice.
