DOJ Civil Division Launches FOCUS Initiative to Vet Data-Mining Whistleblowers

DOJ Civil Division Launches FOCUS Initiative to Vet Data-Mining Whistleblowers

On April 30, the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Division announced its new Fraud Oversight through Careful Use of Statistics (FOCUS) initiative. This program is designed to strengthen the DOJ’s engagement with data-mining whistleblowers who file qui tam complaints under the False Claims Act. 

In describing the program, the DOJ explained that data miners — companies or individuals who use publicly available government data to spot fraud — accounted for more than 45% of qui tam complaints since Fiscal Year 2024. FOCUS is designed to facilitate engagement with the most skilled of these data-mining whistleblowers to sharpen the DOJ’s capabilities in using data for fraud enforcement. FOCUS provides an opportunity for data miners to share methodologies with the Civil Fraud Section and enhances the partnership between the federal government and particularly sophisticated data miners.

While participation is not a pre-filing requirement, the DOJ signaled that it intends to focus its resources on partnering with data miners whose work reflects strong analytical methods, a solid grasp of applicable regulatory requirements, and claims that can support viable enforcement actions. The initiative will also support the recently established National Fraud Enforcement Division’s broader anti-fraud mission. 

Read the DOJ’s announcement here.

Purdue Pharma’s $5.5 Billion Plea Deal Finalized

On April 28, a New Jersey federal judge sentenced opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP to pay $5.5 billion in criminal penalties for its conduct that led to the nationwide opioid epidemic. US District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo accepted Purdue’s 2020 plea deal, ordering the company to pay a $3.544 billion criminal fine and forfeit an additional $2 billion. The forfeiture amount will be reduced by up to $1.775 billion if Purdue, in its current form, dissolves and is made into a public-benefit company. Proceeds of the new public-benefit company will go to state and local opioid abatement programs, and Purdue will also be required to host a public document repository of documents related to the charges.

Between 2007–2017, Purdue manufactured and marketed highly addictive opioids, often selling these medications to physicians and pharmacies who then prescribed them without a legitimate medical purpose. Additionally, court documents show that Purdue misrepresented its illegal diversion prevention programs to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and used doctor speaker programs to pay kickbacks to prescribers and an electronic health records platform. Purdue pleaded guilty in November 2020 to three federal counts: one count of a dual-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), and two counts of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). 

The sentencing clears the way for billions in opioid crisis abatement funds to begin flowing under Purdue’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, which will distribute up to $7.4 billion to creditors. Additionally, about $1 billion will go to addiction treatment, prevention programs, and compensation for individuals harmed by opioids, with the total amount distributed under the plan expected to reach $8.4 billion. The plan also calls for Purdue to be dissolved and replaced by a new nonprofit entity, Knoa Pharma, which will operate the company’s business assets and direct proceeds toward public health initiatives, with no involvement from the Sackler family. 

Read the DOJ’s press release here.

Fourth Circuit Reverses Medicaid Fraud Convictions for Insufficient Evidence

A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed two health care fraud convictions against Richard Davis, the former owner and director of Innovative Family Services LLC, a Medicaid-funded mental health service provider for at-risk youth in Virginia. The government had alleged that Davis directed counselors to log at least five hours of billable work regardless of the services actually rendered. This was allegedly done to overbill Medicaid for therapeutic day treatment services. 

In its unpublished opinion, the 2-1 majority held that the government failed to present sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the counselors submitted false claims to Medicaid on the two specific dates charged in the indictment. As Chief Judge Diaz wrote for the majority, “[g]iven the government’s charging decisions, a whiff of fraud in the air isn’t enough.” Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III dissented, arguing that the majority’s decision demanded an “insurmountable” standard of proof that would “hamper Medicaid’s recovery efforts” moving forward.

The case is United States v. Davis, Case No. 25-4093, in the Fourth Circuit. 

Read the opinion here.

French National Sentenced to Eight Years for Cryptocurrency Money Laundering Operation

Maximilien de Hoop Cartier, a French national and descendant of the Cartier luxury jewelry family, was sentenced to eight years in prison by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York for facilitating an international money laundering scheme. According to court documents, Cartier operated an unlicensed over-the-counter cryptocurrency exchange that laundered more than $470 million in criminal proceeds, including drug trafficking proceeds, through a network of US-based shell companies. Cartier fraudulently misrepresented his businesses as software companies to dozens of US banks in order to open accounts and used forged contracts and invoices to disguise the illicit funds before transmitting them to Colombia and other countries.

In October 2025, Cartier pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. In addition to his prison term, Cartier was ordered to pay over $2.3 million in forfeiture. 

Read the DOJ’s press release here.

Queens Pharmacy Owner Sentenced for Laundering $24.4 Million in Health Care Fraud Proceeds

Taesung Kim, a New York resident, was sentenced on April 24 for his years-long Medicare fraud scheme. He will serve 63 months in prison and must pay $24.4 million in restitution and $6 million in forfeiture. 

Kim, a part-owner of retail pharmacies in Brooklyn and Queens, bribed and paid kickbacks to medical providers and patients to obtain and fill medically unnecessary prescriptions, resulting in approximately $24.4 million in false claims to Medicare. These bribes and kickbacks took the form of cash or other items of value, including office rent and staff to providers and supermarket gift certificates and cash to customers. Kim laundered proceeds from his scheme using trading companies and ultimately distributed profits among the pharmacies’ owners, one of whom was also sentenced to 15 months in prison. 

Read the DOJ’s press release here.