DOJ Launches West Coast Strike Force to Combat Health Care Fraud

On April 30, 2026, the Department of Justice announced a major expansion of its health care fraud enforcement efforts with the formation of the West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force. The newly created National Fraud Enforcement Division of DOJ will head up this strike force. Office of Public Affairs | The Fraud Division Launches West Coast Strike Force to Target Health Care Fraud Schemes Across Arizona, Nevada, and Northern California | United States Department of Justice

The Strike Force is uniting federal prosecutors with law enforcement agencies — including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and local law enforcement agencies — to combat what Assistant Attorney General McDonald has categorized as an “urgent and undeniable” threat of health care fraud in Arizona, Nevada, and Northern California. The Strike Force will be staffed by at least ten prosecutors from DOJ’s Fraud Division, acting as a “force multiplier for these U.S. Attorneys’ Offices[.]” DOJ explains that the Strike Force model is data-focused and has historically been one of its most effective enforcement tools, which enabled prosecution of more than 6,200 defendants and uncovered over $45 billion in allegedly fraudulent billings.

The Strike Force focuses on Northern California, Arizona and Nevada because Silicon Valley and the Northern District of California have become hubs for increasingly sophisticated, technology-driven fraud schemes. It is designed to respond to DOJ’s belief that extensive fraud activity is expanding beyond frequently reported Southern California epicenters.

Key Takeaways

The West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force will target fraud schemes beyond previously targeted epicenters.
This initiative marshals law enforcement resources, data analytics, and regional coordination to address surging health care fraud in these new locations, with a focus on fraud that involves exploitation of technologies in digital health.
Medical technology companies and providers operating in targeted regions must prepare for heightened scrutiny of business practices.

Strike Force Details

The Strike Force was created because DOJ analytics have discovered a migration of fraud schemes to Arizona and Nevada and the rise of technology-driven schemes in Northern California. When announcing its formation, Assistant AG McDonald highlighted the following recent prosecutions to underscore the need:

In Arizona, the owner of a medical billing company was charged with defrauding Medicaid in the amount of $650 million through exploitation of patients at substance abuse treatment clinics.
In San Francisco, executives of a digital health technology company were convicted for a $100 million scheme to distribute controlled substances over the internet in violation of health care laws.
In Arizona, two wound graft company owners were convicted of a $1.2 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme, resulting in the seizure of $126 million in assets and prison sentences of roughly 15 years
In Silicon Valley, the president of a medical technology company received an eight-year sentence in a COVID-19-related health care fraud case.

Expanded Use of ‘Data Analytics’

Analytics will serve as a central tool in identifying potential fraud before it is reported by whistleblowers or other traditional channels. Anticipated analytic techniques include claims-pattern analysis to detect billing outliers and review utilization data. These tools allow authorities to proactively investigate anomalies rather than waiting for reports to land on their desk. Whistleblower complaints will still remain central to DOJ investigative efforts, however, and continue to serve as a critical source of investigative leads. In light of the renewed focus on analytics, providers must ensure that documentation, utilization patterns, and billing practice withstand statistical scrutiny and analysis.

The Road Ahead

A number of questions remain

Will DOJ expand this model to Southern Florida, long viewed as a hotbed of healthcare fraud, or along the West Coast, including into Southern California where hospice enforcement actions have recently escalated?
Should smaller companies expect increased prosecution in light of Assistant AG McDonald’s stated intent to pursue “all levels” of fraud?
Will the Stike Force usher in parallel state investigations through increased DOJ coordination with state attorneys general, Medicaid fraud control units, and NAMFCU?

The Strike Force’s data-driven mandate likely increases the importance of documenting good-faith compliance efforts before a government inquiry begins. Providers should conduct privileged internal investigations, assess repayment obligations and overpayments, implement corrective actions, and consider whether findings dictate self-disclosure to DOJ, HHS-OIG, and CMS given DOJ’s continued emphasis on cooperation and voluntary disclosure of fraud or misconduct.

Health care operators should continue to prioritize proactive compliance measures—such as employee training, good documentation practices, routine audits, and reviews of billing protocols.