Vice President Joe Biden holds a cabinet meeting on the campaign to cut waste, in room 430 of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House, December 13, 2011. Pictured are (from left) Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, and OMB Director Jack Lew. Photo Courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov
Yesterday, Deputy Attorney General James Cole joined Vice President Biden at a Cabinet meeting focused on meeting the President’s
commitment to cut waste, combat fraud, and eliminate misspent dollars across the Federal government.
During the meeting, Deputy Attorney General Cole announced that the Department of Justice has recovered more than $5.6 billion in fraud proceeds in 2011 – the largest amount for any single year in the history of the department. This historic achievement represents an increase of more than 167 percent since 2008, and includes nearly $3.4 billion in civil fraud, as well as $2.2 billion in criminal fraud.
These recoveries stemmed from activities ranging from grant fraud, to mortgage fraud, to procurement fraud, and far beyond. In fact, nearly $3 billion was recovered in health care fraud alone, due in part to unprecedented levels of cooperation between the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services.
In particular, the use of Medicare Fraud Strike Forces – specialized teams of agents and prosecutors dedicated to a singular mission – has significantly expanded in recent years, and their impact on our efforts has been dramatic. In 2008, these Strike Forces allowed the Department to bring cases involving $384 million in fraudulent claims. This year, they brought cases involving over $1 billion in fraudulent claims – meaning that, for every dollar spent on this effort, the Administration has been able to recover seven dollars.
All told, the Department of Justice has amassed $15 billion in total fraud recoveries since 2009. Some of this money has been sent back to states, paid to whistleblowers, or devoted to strengthening important programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Other funds have been returned to the U.S. Treasury to help reduce the deficit. And all of this is just the beginning.
As Deputy Attorney General Cole said:
“Our message could not be clearer – we will aggressively investigate and prosecute those who seek to defraud the American people. Those who commit fraud will be held to account. And the America taxpayer will continue to see a high rate of return on its investment in the Department of the Justice.”
All across the country, the Department of Justice continues to move aggressively to protect the American people from fraud.
For more information, visit WhiteHouse.gov, StopMedicareFraud.gov or StopFraud.gov. 
U.S. Department
of Justice
