DOJ Announces Expansion of Healthcare Fraud Enforcement in Greater Philadelphia

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on August 4, 2026, held a joint press conference to announce a new District Anti-Fraud Initiative in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA or Eastern District), as well as charges against 19 defendants for alleged Medicaid fraud schemes.¹ As part of the District Anti-Fraud Initiative, agents from the National Fraud Enforcement Division's (NFED) Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force will be embedded in Philadelphia to target alleged healthcare fraud by companies and individuals within the Eastern District's jurisdiction.

This development carries significant implications for healthcare and life sciences companies operating in the greater Philadelphia region. The announcement signals that the Eastern District – already one of the nation's most active jurisdictions for healthcare fraud enforcement – will receive additional federal investigative resources dedicated to identifying and prosecuting fraud against government programs.

Establishment of the NFED

The NFED was established on April 7, 2026, as a new stand-alone litigating division within the DOJ.² As explained in a previous Holland & Knight alert, the NFED retains operational control over the DOJ's fraud enforcement components and is representative of what the Trump Administration has described as a unified national strategy to investigate and prosecute fraud involving taxpayer-funded programs. The NFED Strike Force's expansion into the Philadelphia region follows similar federal-state partnerships between the Strike Force and District U.S. Attorneys' Offices, as well as state attorneys general nationwide.

EDPA's Selection as a Strike Force Partner

The embedding of NFED agents in EDPA is part of a broader nationwide initiative to expand the reach of the relatively new NFED. The following factors converge to make EDPA and the Philadelphia region a natural focus for NFED embedment in the Division's early stages:

• EDPA's History as a Leader in Healthcare Fraud Prosecution. The EDPA has a long history of prosecuting healthcare fraud and has consistently been among the most active districts for qui tam litigation and False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement.³ The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District has been a national leader in this space, securing significant FCA recoveries.
• Established Law Enforcement Partners. The presence of sophisticated law enforcement partners in the Philadelphia region makes EDPA an ideal partner for NFED collaboration, exemplified by the presence of representatives from the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and IRS at the press conference. The FBI's Philadelphia Field Office is one of the oldest⁴ and largest field offices in the country and has worked with the DOJ in prosecuting healthcare fraud. Additionally, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) is centered in Philadelphia and consists of a Medicare Fraud Strike Force team that uses data analytics and combined federal, state and local resources to combat healthcare fraud.⁵ The DEA is also centered in Philadelphia and aids the Eastern District in cases involving the intersection of healthcare fraud, which has been a key focus of the DOJ. The combination of experienced FBI agents, OIG investigators and DEA personnel gives the district substantial investigative capabilities that will aid incoming NFED Strike Force agents.
• Regional Concentration of Companies, Hospitals and Providers. Philadelphia and the surrounding counties are home to a dense concentration of life sciences companies, major health and hospital systems, and substantial healthcare providers. The concentration of these entities and individuals within the district also creates a regional anchor for healthcare fraud enforcement activity.
• Philadelphia's Long-Standing Relator's Bar. Philadelphia has long been home to a robust and experienced relator's bar (i.e., attorneys who specialize in representing whistleblowers in qui tam litigation under the FCA). These practitioners have brought many of their cases to EDPA, creating a steady pipeline of whistleblower complaints and making EDPA a "prime venue for private lawsuits that bring unlawful corporate conduct in the health care industry to the attention of law enforcement."⁶
• Cooperation with Pennsylvania Attorney General. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's support for the District Anti-Fraud Initiative suggests that the NFED might also benefit from access to state datasets, enabling their integration into centralized fraud analytics efforts. These data analytics provide another tool to the NFED and Eastern District in identifying and prosecuting healthcare fraud.

The NFED's embedment in EDPA ultimately represents an infusion of additional resources and manpower to a district with an already significant healthcare industry presence and existing enforcement infrastructure.

Key Takeaways

The expansion of the NFED's Northeast Health Care Strike Force to Philadelphia will likely result in an increase in the volume of investigative activity in EDPA. This influx of resources might also invite enhanced whistleblower activity. This new partnership underscores the importance of industry participants maintaining effective compliance infrastructure, conducting regular internal audits and fostering a culture of compliance throughout the organization. Companies should ensure that compliance programs and infrastructure are tailored to meet the needs of the current enforcement environment.

Ultimately, the NFED's involvement in healthcare fraud prosecution in the greater Philadelphia region serves as a reminder to industry actors to continue to evaluate their risk profiles and update their compliance programs while remaining abreast of enforcement patterns that are likely to arise in the near future.

For more information or questions, please contact the authors.

Notes

¹ DOJ Press Conference (Aug. 4, 2026).

² DOJ memorandum (April 7, 2026).

³ DOJ Eastern District of Pennsylvania, White-Collar Justice Program (April 16, 2026).

⁴ FBI, FBI Philadelphia History (accessed Aug. 4, 2026).

⁵ HHS OIG, Medicaid Fraud Strike Force (accessed Aug. 4, 2026).

⁶ Id.

Information contained in this alert is for the general education and knowledge of our readers. It is not designed to be, and should not be used as, the sole source of information when analyzing and resolving a legal problem, and it should not be substituted for legal advice, which relies on a specific factual analysis. Moreover, the laws of each jurisdiction are different and are constantly changing. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. If you have specific questions regarding a particular fact situation, we urge you to consult the authors of this publication, your Holland & Knight representative or other competent legal counsel.