Health Care Fraud Defense

Audits & Investigations | Whistleblower Defense Strategies | Grand Jury Subpoenas & CIDs | FBI, HHS, OIG Investigations | Search Warrant Defense | Indictments | Criminal Defense & Trials | Corporate Compliance | Internal Investigations

Successfully Protected Healthcare Clients in 45+ States | 214-469-9009

Are you seeking a life saver? Imagine you have a heart attack. Would you call a dentist or a cardiologist? Probably a cardiologist, someone that has the specific background and the experience to fix the problem. Let’s be honest. A federal investigation is like a heart attack. Everything is on the line. If you or your practice are accused of healthcare fraud, you simply cannot afford to experiment. You need a cardiologist, a life-saver, to make sure that your business, your good name, and your freedom are protected.

You are at the right firm. Meet Attorney Dr. Nick Oberheiden. Nick has represented clients all over the country and demonstrated that healthcare fraud allegations are fixable. In fact, Nick has avoided civil liabilities and criminal charges in many hundreds of healthcare audits and FBI/OIG investigations, whistleblower cases, grand jury and CID proceedings, FBI interview requests, and even search warrants. No stranger to the court room, Nick and his team have dismissed indictments, obtained acquittals, and secured probation even in multi-million-dollar fraud cases. This is what clients have said about Nick publicly.

• “Brilliant Strategy”
• “A True Life Saver”

The best strategy and personal experience will determine your outcome. To see how personal our service is, just text or call Dr. Oberheiden. Get a free and confidential consultation from Nick directly, including on weekends.

Central Intake Contact for Dr. Nick Oberheiden | 214-469-9009

How We Are Different

There truly is no firm like Oberheiden P.C. What makes us different compared to any firm you may find online is the experience of our team and the proven results. Some lawyers will tell you that they can help you when in fact they might experiment with your freedom; other lawyers may understand healthcare laws, but they have never argued a case in court or made a compelling defense presentation in a room filled with FBI agents and federal prosecutors. Well, that’s what WE do every day: WE don’t experiment, WE don’t surrender. We fight, we fix, we resolve, we litigate healthcare fraud accusations.

• Covering Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington D.C., Houston, Dallas, and many more cities with local presence of experienced partner-level federal defense lawyers
• Former FBI Agents (also OIG, IRS, DEA, DOJ Special Agents)
• Former High-Ranking Federal Prosecutors

Find out for yourself. Get the relief that allows you to focus on your business while we take care of your case. Call us today. We are confident that 10 minutes with us will save you hours spent with lawyers that don’t even understand your industry, billing/coding, or where you first need to explain healthcare laws. Don’t waste your time. When you call Dr. Nick Oberheiden and his team, you will see why so many clients before you have trusted us when their financials, their good name, and their freedom was under attack.

How Our Experienced Health Care Fraud Defense Attorneys Have Resolved Healthcare Fraud Cases

Most healthcare fraud cases are based on the theory that a medical provider or a healthcare business (lab, pharmacy, hospital, home health agency) submitted fraudulent billing claims to Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, or a commercial insurance company. Because billing mistakes are not uncommon in an industry known for its regulatory complexity, for the government to be involved, the alleged fraud must be widespread, systematic, and financially significant. In this context, billing errors are financially significant if the received reimbursement exceeds tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. “Fraud” is a fairly undefined term and in most cases the government will allege that a healthcare service lacked medical necessity, was outside the accepted standards of care (e.g. excessive testing), was billed too high, or was billed for but not provided.

Oberheiden P.C. has proven that each of these scenarios is fixable. The sooner we get involved, the easier it is to resolve the matter. | 214-469-9009

You will know that you are under investigation if you or your business receives a healthcare audit request, a CID (Civil Investigative Demand), a subpoena from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), a Grand Jury Subpoena from the Department of Justice (DOJ), or, if the case is already advanced, if your business experiences a federal search warrant or an indictment. An experienced attorney will understand the nuances of each of these scenarios and tailor a specific defense strategy.

Federal Health Care Fraud (18 U.S.C. 1347)

• United States v. Client: Client was indicted for Medicare Fraud. The damage amount was $ 7m. Nick obtained probation for his client.
• United States v. Client: Client was indicted for Medicare Fraud. The damage amount was $ 3m. Nick obtained probation for his client.
• United States v. Client: Client was indicted for Medicaid Fraud. The damage amount exceeded $ 1m. Nick obtained probation for his client.
• See 100+ more examples of Oberheiden P.C. healthcare fraud cases here.

Anti-Kickback Law (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b)

One of the most common allegations in healthcare fraud investigations are so-called kickbacks. Unlike most other industries, healthcare laws prohibit certain types of referral incentives to protect the integrity and independence of a physician’s professional judgment. Even though virtually anything of value may qualify as a kickback (not just straight payments, but also indirectly through physician distributions in MSOs or medical directorship agreements etc.), most kickback cases are surprisingly defendable. A successful client defense requires two attorney skillsets: a superb healthcare law understanding as well as the ability to lead tough negotiations through compelling arguments. The following are just a few representative examples of how Oberheiden P.C. has successfully defended civil and criminal kickback cases across the entire country.

• United States v. Client: Federal kickback investigation against spine surgeon. No civil or criminal liability.
• United States v. Client: FBI investigation against Client. No civil or criminal liability.
• United States v. Client: Dismissed.
• See 100+ more Anti-Kickback examples of Oberheiden P.C. cases here.

False Claims Act (18 U.S.C. 287)

Most False Claims Act cases originate as whistleblower cases. That is, someone, often a former employee or a competitor, reports alleged fraud to the government by filing a lawsuit in an effort to later collect a reward. Targets of these whistleblower cases often find out about the existence of an investigation when they receive a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) or another form of a government subpoena (e.g. OIG subpoena) requesting documents and corporate information. The absolute priority in all False Claims Act defense cases is to make sure that the investigation does not turn into a criminal case—that is something Oberheiden P.C. has accomplished in every single whistleblower case. By the same token, Oberheiden P.C. is an asset protection specialist and protected the financial stability of its clients by dismissing or favorably settling False Claims Act cases (e.g. in Los Angeles, in Florida, in Houston, in Philadelphia, in Dallas, in Portland, in Ohio etc.).

• United States v. Client: OIG investigation against laboratory. Our defense resulted in no civil and no criminal liability for our client. Case dismissed, no liability.
• United States v. Client: OIG/FBI kickback investigation against marketing company. Our defense resulted in no civil and no criminal liability for our client. Case dismissed, no liability.
• United States v. Client: FCA investigation against physician practice. Our defense resulted in no civil and no criminal liability for our client. Case dismissed, no liability.
• See 100+ more False Claims Act defense examples of Oberheiden P.C. here.

Aggravated Identity Theft

Aggravated identity theft is a good illustration to understand how important it is to be represented by trusted, experienced healthcare fraud defense attorneys. Recently, the Justice Department started to add aggravated identity theft to healthcare fraud indictments. Each count contains a mandatory two-year imprisonment. That means, probation is not an option. Oberheiden P.C. saw this trend quickly, and has successfully argued why aggravated identity theft is simply not applicable in the case—and saved clients from years of unnecessary prison time. Again, don’t gamble with your future. Call Oberheiden P.C. today.

• United States v. Client: We avoided aggravated identity theft charges for our client and were able to stop the investigation against our client in its entirety. No charges.
• United States v. Client: OIG/FBI kickback investigation against marketing company. Our defense resulted in no civil and no criminal liability for our client. Case dismissed.
• United States v. Client: FCA investigation against physician practice. Our defense resulted in no civil and no criminal liability for our client. Case dismissed.
• See 100+ more examples of how Oberheiden P.C. defended federal felonies here.

Federal Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. 1349)

Many federal healthcare fraud cases are brought as a conspiracy. The government essentially claims that multiple people have contributed something to the overall success of a fraud scheme. Let’s take the example of a marketer (M), a doctor (D), and a pharmacy (P). If a M unlawfully incentivizes D to send referrals to the pharmacy (“kickbacks”), then all three individuals may be charged by way of a conspiracy: the marketer for bribing, the doctor for accepting the bribe, and the pharmacy for billing claims that were based on a kickback. Oberheiden P.C. knows how to break that chain. We have successfully defended against hundreds of conspiracy charges, call us now to see how we did it!

• United States v. Client: We avoided aggravated identity theft charges for our client and were able to stop the investigation against our client in its entirety. No charges.
• United States v. Client: OIG/FBI kickback investigation against marketing company. Our defense resulted in no civil and no criminal liability for our client. Case dismissed.
• United States v. Client: FCA investigation against physician practice. Our defense resulted in no civil and no criminal liability for our client. Case dismissed.
• See 100+ more examples of how Oberheiden P.C. avoided or defended federal conspiracy charges here.

Our Pledge to You

• No Associate or Junior Lawyer Will Work on Your Case
• You Will Speak
• You Will Benefit from Our Experience and Reputation

Our Federal Defense Lawyers Represent Clients in Federal Health Care Fraud Cases Nationwide – Including all CMS, DEA, DOJ, and OIG Matters

Regardless of your role within the health care industry, facing federal fraud allegations is an extremely serious matter. If federal agents are targeting your business or practice based upon allegations of Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, or Department of Labor (DOL) fraud, failing to defend yourself effectively could result in exposure to significant civil or criminal penalties.

Federal health care fraud allegations can take a variety of different forms, and federal prosecutors can pursue civil and criminal charges under a multitude of federal statutes. As a result, when facing a federal health care fraud investigation, a critical early step is to determine the scope and nature of the allegations against you. Are you being accused of overbilling Medicaid or Tricare? Are you being accused of using Medicare-reimbursed funds to pay “kickbacks” or referral fees? Are you being accused of improperly prescribing, dispensing, or billing for opioid medications? Until you know why you are being targeted, you simply have no way of asserting an effective defense.

At Oberheiden, P.C., a significant portion of our practice is devoted to defending clients in federal health care fraud matters. When you engage our federal defense team to represent you, our attorneys will work to quickly get to the bottom of the government’s investigation. To find out why you are being targeted and what penalties are on the table, call 888-519-4897 for a free and confidential case assessment from one of our senior health care fraud defense lawyers.