The Justice Department has expanded its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to Philadelphia to tackle Medicare and Medicaid fraud related to home health care services. A new strike force office will open in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. This initiative brings together the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Authorities have charged 19 defendants in connection with schemes amounting to more than $4 million in false claims to Medicare and Medicaid. Those charged include owners and employees of home health care companies, supposed aides, and Medicaid recipients. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced a plea deal involving the last defendant in a previously charged case connected to over $1.7 million in claims.

The expansion of the Fraud Division into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania provides more federal resources to strengthen health care fraud enforcement in the area.

Some defendants allegedly billed Medicaid for services when they were unavailable, such as being incarcerated, hospitalized, or abroad. In other instances, people made fraudulent claims for services exceeding feasible hours, like claiming over 24 hours of care in a single day. One company was accused of falsifying clock-in and clock-out times.

The Philadelphia office will collaborate with the HHS Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the DEA, and other agencies. This expansion follows similar increases in strike force efforts in states such as California and Arizona. Recent national actions have addressed health care fraud involving losses of over $15 billion in 2025 and more than $6 billion in 2026.