Attorney General Loretta Lynch Recognizes Middle District Of Florida Employees

WASHINGTON – Assistant United States Attorney Ralph E. Hopkins and Legal Administrative Assistant Tyline Medina of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) were two of 160 members of the Department of Justice recognized by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson at the 31^st Director’s Awards Ceremony today in Washington D.C.

The MDFL was one of 31 districts represented at the ceremony which was held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.

In her prepared remarks, Attorney General Lynch told the awardees, “Our honorees include career executives and supervisors; Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys; appellate attorneys and law enforcement officials; administrators, paralegals, and public affairs officers. These individuals, and so many others, have faced daunting and sometimes dangerous challenges. They have dedicated their leadership and their expertise, their time and their energy, to the service of their mission.  And they have remained devoted, at all times, to the high ideals and deeply-held values that animate our country and our cause."

Hopkins and Medina received one of the Department of Justice’s highest honors, the Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team, in recognition of their tremendous effort in litigating the Government’s claims in the civil health care fraud case styled United States ex rel. Baklid-Kunz v. Halifax Hospital Medical Ctr., et al., and for negotiating a landmark settlement in that case.  The settlement -- reached on the morning of trial -- paid the United States $85 million to resolve claims that the defendant violated the Stark Act through illegal relationships with physician practice groups.

United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, who attended today’s ceremony, said, “It was my honor to nominate and witness Ralph, Tyline, and the litigation team receive this prestigious award today. I am thankful for their countless hours of hard work, and I know that future enforcement efforts will be greatly assisted by the achievements of this trial team.”

In addition to Hopkins and Medina, six other members of the litigation team were recognized today.  Trial Attorneys Adam J. Schwartz and Kavitha J. Babu, Paralegal Specialist Jackeline M. Rosero, and Financial Analyst Eileen Zimmer from the DOJ Civil Division’s Fraud Section, Assistant United States Attorney Patricia M. Fitzgerald from the Northern District of Ohio, and Special Agent Robert W. Murphy from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Investigations in Jacksonville each received the Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigative Team for their roles in this case.

EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country. For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.