The Department of Justice just completed the largest health care fraud takedown in U.S. history. According to the DOJ, 324 defendants—including 96 licensed professionals—were charged across 50 federal districts. The total intended loss? Over $14.6 billion.
For anyone under investigation right now, this announcement isn’t just a headline. It’s a warning. If you’re slow to act or hiding behind lawyers who say “wait and see,” you may end up in the same position as many of these 324: indicted, publicly named, and fighting for your freedom.
The time to prepare is not after an arrest or indictment. It’s during the early stage of the investigation, when you still have options. That’s when cooperation matters. That’s when creating a record that shows why you are different from the government’s one-sided version of events is the only way to begin preparing for the best outcome–the shortest possible federal prison sentence. And that’s where most people fall behind—not because they’re bad people, but because they don’t act fast enough.
The DOJ Moves Fast. You Must Move First.
This takedown didn’t happen overnight. It was the product of months of investigation by the DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Unit, the FBI, DEA, HHS-OIG, and CMS. And the defendants didn’t all do the same thing—some submitted fraudulent Medicare claims, others distributed opioids, and some used artificial intelligence to create fake recordings of patients. But what they had in common was this: their cases were built over time, often using data analytics, patient records, and financial surveillance.
Waiting until the DOJ sends a subpoena or executes a raid is not a strategy. It’s a gamble. And it’s one that ends badly for most people who take it. Early cooperation and personal preparation—especially in white-collar health care cases—often leads to reduced charges, better plea terms, or even the opportunity to avoid indictment.
We’ve seen it over and over again: people who come forward early and start building a clear, honest narrative—supported by documentation and actions—get shorter sentences and more liberty after sentencing.
What Prosecutors Are Looking For
When a U.S. Attorney reviews your case, they aren’t just looking at how much money was involved. They’re looking at what you’ve done since the government came knocking. Did you acknowledge what happened? Did you take steps to fix it? Did you cooperate—or did you obstruct? That timeline matters.
The DOJ press release includes dozens of examples. One of the most serious involves Operation Gold Rush, where defendants allegedly submitted $10.6 billion in fraudulent claims using stolen identities. Four of them were arrested overseas. Others were caught trying to flee at U.S. airports.
If your response to a subpoena is silence, or if you wait for indictment and hope to make a deal afterward, you’ve already missed the opportunity that early cooperation could have given you.
What Early Cooperation Looks Like
It’s not just about talking to the government. It’s about proving that you’re preparing. That means:
- Working with counsel to disclose facts quickly
- Documenting a release plan that shows how you are rebuilding
- Publishing your plan on a public platform like PrisonProfessorsTalent.com to create a clear, ongoing record of how you are working to make amends to influence cynical stakeholders, like a Judge and Probation Offiver.
- Following the model developed by Michael Santos, whose release planning workbook has guided thousands through the federal system
Prosecutors take notice when someone goes beyond words and builds an actual record. That’s how you show you’re not trying to escape consequences—you’re trying to prove you’re worthy of leniency.
Delay Makes You Look Like a Risk
If you’re silent while the DOJ builds a case, your silence gets interpreted as defiance. If you act early and build a clear plan, prosecutors and probation officers have something to point to during pretrial release, plea negotiations, or sentencing. That’s the difference between looking like a risk—and looking like someone who is committed to fixing the window, as Judge Bough told us.
The 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown proves how aggressive federal enforcement has become. And it also shows who’s still stuck playing defense.
Don’t be one of them.
If you’re under investigation—or think you might be—schedule a personal call or join our weekly webinar every Tuesday at 11AM Pacific / 2PM Eastern. The DOJ is moving fast. You need to demonstrate that you are a candidate for leniency.
Justin Paperny
