The U.S. Attorney for Philadelphia Forges a Strike Force of Seasoned Prosecutors

William M. McSwain, Esquire was nominated by President Donald J. Trump to be the 39^th U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It is also one of the nation’s largest districts covering over 4,700 square miles with over five million people residing within the district. The U.S. Attorney was unanimously confirmed and assumed his office on April 6, 2018. Mr. McSwain has reported he is in the process of revamping his Office which is not unusual after a change in administration. To that end, he has announced new initiatives and new hires, along with a change of supervisory attorneys throughout the Office.

Since his installation as U.S. Attorney, McSwain has vowed to bring more prosecutions of every kind within his nine county district. In accordance with earlier pronouncements, McSwain announced on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, that he is establishing an “Affirmative Civil Enforcement Strike Force” to “investigate and prosecute the abuse of government programs – including health care and procurement fraud.” Significantly, the Strike Force will investigate and litigate cases brought under the now 32 year old Federal False Claims Act. Similarly in 2007, the DOJ launched a Medicaid Fraud Strike Force in efforts to combat health care fraud, waste, and abuse. It has charged nearly 2,000 defendants since its enactment.

Recently, McSwain’s Office settled a case involving two pharmacy owners and the False Claims Act – the type of case the new Strike Force aims to handle. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania was one of the first U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the nation to investigate and prosecute vigorously both procurement fraud and health care fraud cases. This had often been done with the assistance of qui tam relators and their counsel, under the False Claims Act. Mr. McSwain has signaled to the public that he wishes to build upon and expand the Office’s historic franchise in this area.

The Office’s Civil Division Chief Gregory B. David stated the new strike force “will continue the civil division’s long history of successfully combating fraud and enforcing important federal laws through civil investigations and actions.” McSwain explained the ACE Strike Force will assist our talented attorneys by supplying “additional firepower to focus on these critical matters.” The Strike Force will be led by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Crutchlow and supervised by ACE veteran litigators Gregory David and Deputy Civil Chief Charlene Keller Fullmer.