by Jeffrey J. Downey
The report explains that the Department pursued over 280 enforcement actions against 600 defendants, “many of whom were here illegally.” It appears that the Administration’s drive to expel undocumented immigrants is one of their major efforts that they equate with stopping elder abuse and neglect.
Much of the report focuses on financial fraud and data breaches, which does not always involve elders in the U.S. The Justice Department has resolved some False Claims Act cases against nursing homes. In U.S. v. Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services, LLC the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania obtained over 15 million in restitution for two Pittsburgh area nursing facilities for making false statements related to health care benefits and for obstructing an investigation involving CMS. However, this relates back to a 2023 case in which a jury found the facilities had violated various criminal statutes. The Department even discusses the Bernie Madoff case in this article, along with a Western Union case that grew out of an agreement reached back in 2017.
In short, the Trump Justice Department can show no recent cases where they went after nursing home fraud, abuse or neglect. In addition, the Administration, through the Treasure Department, permanently eliminated the requirement for U.S. companies to report beneficial ownership information. This rule change rolls back previous anti-money laundering and anti-corruption reporting mandates that had been established under the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act. This could adversely impact the government’s ability to track money and recover fraudulent Medicare funds under the False Claims Act.
The False Claims Act is a useful statute used to hold facilities, including nursing homes, liable for committing fraud and other financial abuses. Prior administrations, in combination with false claims act attorneys, prosecuted multiple cases recouping millions of dollars in fraudulent dollars that were paid by Medicare and/or Medicaid to nursing home chains. This is no longer a priority.
What should be clear from this article is that the level of involvement of DOJ in pursing nursing home fraud and neglect has decreased drastically.
Since the Trump Administration has taken over the Justice Department, both main Justice and U.S. Attorney offices have lost over 4,000 experienced attorneys. In fact some 70% of DOJ’s civil rights division attorneys are leaving DOJ.
“There is a reason that many of the reported cases involving nursing home fraud grew out of prosecutions that were begun in the Biden administration,” explains nursing home abuse attorney Jeffrey J. Downey. “Now the Department simply does not have the interest or resources necessary to pursue these cases. And they have certainly not made the prevention of elder neglect in nursing homes a priority. To the contrary planned cuts in Medicaid will only make things worse in our nursing homes.
Lack of attorney resources and aggressive enforcement will result in more financial fraud and elder abuse in years to come. It could take decades before the harm that the Trump Administration has caused to DOJ and the judiciary is fixed.”
If you have a question about nursing home or assisted living neglect or abuse, call the Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey to speak with an experienced nursing home abuse attorney for additional information.
Contact the Law Office of Jeffrey J. Downey for a free consultation at 703-629-2400. Attorney Downey has over 35 years of experience handling malpractice claims.
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