The Department of Justice of the United States announced on Tuesday the expansion of the ''Northeast Health Care Fraud Task Force'' to Philadelphia, as part of a federal and state offensive to combat fraud schemes against Medicare and Medicaid related to home health care services.
The measure expands the capacity of federal authorities to pursue individuals and companies accused of exploiting publicly funded programs. The new office will be located in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and will bring together the National Fraud Enforcement Division of the Department of Justice with the Federal Prosecutor's Office of the district.
The announcement was accompanied by charges against 19 individuals, accused of participating in various schemes involving more than $4 million in claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid, according to the Department of Justice. Among the accused are owners and employees of home health care companies, alleged aides, and Medicaid beneficiaries.
The United States Department of Justice announced the expansion of federal efforts to combat healthcare fraud
The offensive reflects one of the priorities of President Donald Trump's administration: to more intensively use federal tools to pursue fraud and protect resources allocated to public programs. Instead of allowing organized networks to exploit taxpayer-funded health systems, the Department of Justice is expanding its operations and coordinating various agencies to identify irregularities.
The cases announced in Pennsylvania show the variety of mechanisms that, according to prosecutors, would have been used to defraud the system. Some of the accusations indicate that home health aides billed for Medicaid services while being incarcerated, hospitalized, working other jobs, or even traveling outside the United States.
In another case, a Medicaid beneficiary allegedly stated that they needed a considerable amount of medical assistance at home while simultaneously working as a carpenter.
The Donald Trump administration seeks greater efficiency in the fight against fraud in programs like Medicaid
Investigators also identified alleged work records incompatible with reality. Some defendants allegedly submitted overlapping or impossible schedules, including claims that represented more than 24 hours of care in a single day.
In another case, a home health care agency and its owners were accused of submitting bills to Medicaid based on false employee check-in and check-out records.
State authorities also advanced against a previous case. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced a plea agreement related to the last defendant in a case involving 21 people and more than $1.7 million in allegedly fraudulent claims.
The Attorney General of Pennsylvania highlighted a case in which around 21 defendants fraudulently claimed more than one and a half million dollars
The Department of Justice emphasized that the expansion into eastern Pennsylvania will allow for greater federal resources to be incorporated into a district that already has experience in health care fraud investigations. According to the agency, cooperation between the Fraud Division and the federal prosecutor's office will enable the pursuit of criminals who use companies and corporate structures to conceal their activities.
The new office will also work with the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, the DEA, and other law enforcement agencies.
The expansion is part of a broader national effort. The health care fraud task force program has also recently expanded to California, Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Minnesota.
The most notable cases include the submission of false records, non-existent individuals, and time lapses that exceed the number of benefits a user could claim per day
The Department of Justice noted that during 2025, two major national operations against health care fraud were conducted related to alleged losses exceeding $15 billion, while actions taken in 2026 involve more than $6 billion in alleged losses.
For the Trump administration, these investigations represent a strategy to strengthen oversight of public programs and pursue those who use taxpayer funds to illegally enrich themselves. The expansion in Philadelphia aims to turn that strategy into a permanent presence in one of the country's major health care fraud investigation centers.
