What are the penalties for Medicare Fraud?

Detroit is home to the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, an elite Medicare fraud task force that investigates healthcare fraud in Dearborn and throughout Wayne County. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1347, Medicare fraud is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment per count, but could trigger even longer sentences if the patient was harmed by the fraud. If a patient dies as a result of the healthcare fraud conduct, federal law authorizes life-in-prison sentences if found guilty or convicted at trial.

Will the government pursue charges if I honestly didn't know about a violation?

It depends, however, generally speaking, the government does not need to prove that you intended to engage in healthcare fraud to pursue charges. Most healthcare fraud statutes are strict liability offenses, or have a knowledge element that doesn't require the intent to defraud. Instead, these cases proceed based on your knowledge of the submission itself. For example, if there were errors in a bill you submitted to Medicare, you can be liable for them if you knew or should have known of their existence. For this reason, many honest and well0intentioned providers occasionally find themselves at the center of a healthcare fraud investigation. If you are under investigation for healthcare fraud, it is imperative you reach out to a dedicated Michigan federal healthcare fraud defense attorney as soon as possible to give your attorney the best chance of favorably resolving the case.

What is a Detroit, Michigan whistleblower claim?

The term whistleblower refers to an individual who brings evidence of healthcare fraud to the attention of federal authorities in hopes of securing a financial reward for themselves. Under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act, anyone with knowledge of potential healthcare fraud can bring a case themselves, on behalf of the government. Once a whistleblower, also called a relator, provides information to the government, the government must follow up on the allegations. The government may determine to intervene in the case, if it finds the allegations are both significant and supported by evidence. However, even if the federal government chooses not to intervene, the relator can pursue the case at their own expense. If you recently learned that a whistleblower brought allegations of healthcare fraud against you or your practice, do not hesitate to reach out to an experienced Detroit, MI federal healthcare fraud defense attorney.

Detroit Healthcare Fraud Defense Lawyers

Last Updated: 08-04-2026

Attorney Michael A. RatajDetroit Healthcare Team Lead
Litigation Counsel

Detroit meeting location – by appointment only: We do NOT accept mail or service at this location.
220 West Congress St. 2nd Floor
Detroit, MI 48226
313-462-7972

Healthcare law is one of the core practice areas at the national law firm Oberheiden, P.C., including at the firm’s Detroit office. Our Detroit healthcare fraud defense lawyers are here to guide you through any legal processes you may face. This an complex and important area of the law includes several subsets:

Healthcare business litigation
Healthcare fraud defense
Healthcare compliance law

Oberheiden P.C. has some of the leading Detroit healthcare fraud defense attorneys and investigators in each of these fields.

Healthcare Business Litigation

Health professionals are often the target of civil lawsuits filed by a variety of adverse parties, from:

Customers or clients
Vendors
Competitors
Employees and former employees
Shareholders
Whistleblowers

Many of these claims are groundless. However, they still have to be treated seriously no matter what the allegations are. Worse, it is not uncommon for baseless accusations to get into the media and hurt your business’ brand before the truth has time to come out.

Just a few of the most common types of business litigation that healthcare companies can face in Detroit are:

The threats that these legal issues can pose can be substantial. It is not uncommon for there to be millions of dollars at stake in each claim. Worse, if you or your Detroit healthcare company is found to be liable for misconduct, the reputational harm that you suffer can lead to lost income in the future that, in some cases, exceeds what was paid out in the verdict or settlement. A finding of liability can even jeopardize your medical license, credentials, or good standing in the field.

These legal threats can affect nearly any type of healthcare business or organization, including:

Laboratories
Hospitals
Clinics
Individual practitioners
Small healthcare businesses
Pharmacies
Pharmaceutical companies
Medical device manufacturers

A bad outcome in any of these cases against any of these individuals or organizations can cripple their finances or even close them down forever.

Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Founder

Attorney-at-Law

Lynette S. Byrd

Former DOJ Trial Attorney

Partner

Brian J. Kuester

Former U.S. Attorney

Hon. Kevin McCarthy

55th Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives (ret.)

Government Consultant

Mike Pompeo

Of Counsel

Former U.S. Secretary of State

John W. Sellers

Former Senior DOJ Trial Attorney

Linda Julin McNamara

Federal Appeals Attorney

Nicholas B. Johnson

Former Prosecutor

Roger Bach

Former Special Agent (DOJ)

Chris J. Quick

Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)

Michael S. Koslow

Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)

Ray Yuen

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

Healthcare Fraud Defense

One of the most serious allegations that Detroit healthcare companies can face is for healthcare fraud. These allegations can come from private parties or from the government, which can file civil cases for healthcare fraud or even criminal charges if prosecutors think that they can prove that you acted with an intent to defraud someone.

Just a few examples of the healthcare fraud defense cases that Oberheiden, P.C. has handled for clients in and around Detroit have been for:

Many of these serious legal threats start out much, much smaller. Often, what happens is that auditors or investigators who are just performing a routine check of their business records find something suspicious and begin to dig into it, uncovering more and more evidence that you or your company is defrauding a healthcare insurance program. Our Detroit healthcare fraud defense attorney team has found that this can happen during any of the following audits, inspections, and common requests for information:

Getting legal representation involved early on in the process is extremely important for these sorts of cases. By invoking your rights during the audit or investigation, you can ensure that you or your company is adequately insulated from legal liability.

Healthcare Compliance

The best way to avoid legal liability is to take the necessary steps to ensure that you or your Detroit healthcare company is in compliance with all of the legal requirements that apply to it.

Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it sounds.

State and federal regulatory requirements in the healthcare field are wide-ranging, diverse, and often very demanding. Worse, they can vary depending on your business practices and the products or services that you offer, and even on the types of payment that you accept. Failing to comply with them, though, can come with astronomical costs to you or your company.

The healthcare compliance professionals at Oberheiden, P.C.’s Detroit law office have helped numerous clients in the healthcare industry determine what their compliance needs are, and then helped them achieve a tight level of compliance with those obligations without impeding on the business’ operations. Among our prior clients have been:

Hospitals
Doctors’ offices
Dentists
Laboratories
Veterinarians
Pharmacists
Nurses
Mental health professionals
Home health agencies
Chiropractors
Addiction clinics
Urgent care centers
Telemedicine practices

Let us help you with a compliance program to keep your career and future safer from investigations by federal agencies.

The Skilled Legal Team at Oberheiden, P.C.

Regardless of what your needs are in the field of healthcare law, a Detroit healthcare fraud defense attorney at the Detroit law office of Oberheiden, P.C. can help. Healthcare law is at the heart of our law practice, and the deep roster of healthcare attorneys, investigators, and compliance professionals that we have on staff shows it. When you hire Oberheiden, P.C. for your situation in healthcare law, you can count on the experienced legal representation of attorneys and professionals with backgrounds in federal agencies like the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

4 Frequently Asked Questions About Healthcare Law and Oberheiden, P.C’s Law Office in Detroit, Michigan

1. Where is Your Law Office in Detroit?

Oberheiden, P.C.’s Detroit office is located in the heart of the downtown area at 220 West Congress St. 2nd Floor. Please note that this office is by appointment only.

Our other law offices in Michigan are in Dearborn, Grand Rapids, West Bloomfield, and Troy.

2. What is a National Law Firm?

Oberheiden, P.C. is a national law firm. This means that Detroit is not the only place where we practice healthcare law – far from it. We have offices and attorneys in all but six states in the U.S., providing local counsel and legal representation to clients across the country and in courthouses from Florida to Alaska.

3. What Sets Oberheiden, P.C. Apart from Other Healthcare Law Firms?

There are several things that Oberheiden, P.C. does differently from other healthcare law firms. Probably the most important difference, though, is in how we structure our law firm.

At other law firms in Detroit and elsewhere, there will be a small handful of senior-level lawyers and partners. For each of these, there are often several to a dozen junior associates, plus around an equal number of paralegals and legal secretaries. When these firms solicit your business, they will tout the experience of the partners and senior associates, who are often very well-credentialed and have a strong background in healthcare law. However, when it comes time to do the work on your case, those experienced attorneys take on a supervisory role while the junior associates and paralegals perform the actual work. It is not uncommon for clients at these firms to never deal with the senior lawyers that convinced them to hire the firm.

At Oberheiden, P.C., this delegation of your case from the lawyers that you wanted to handle your case to ones that you probably did not know about cannot happen because we only employ senior-level Detroit healthcare fraud defense lawyers at our firm. Without any junior associates, paralegals, or even any legal secretaries, you can rest assured that experienced eyes are looking over every aspect of your case, from beginning to end.

We do this for several reasons.

First, we think this approach allows us to provide more effective legal representation. When inexperienced attorneys or paralegals do so much of the legwork on your case, even if there is some oversight, details will get missed and mistakes will be made. When an experienced Detroit healthcare fraud defense lawyer does everything, they are far more likely to notice important details that could make a huge difference in the outcome of your case – details that less experienced attorneys likely will have missed.

Second, we think this is a more honest approach to providing legal services. Attracting clients to a law firm by flaunting the experience of the leading lawyers at the firm, only to have less experienced junior associates actually handle your case, feels like a bait-and-switch.

Finally, we have found that our clients enjoy a peace of mind in knowing that every aspect of their case is being handled by an experienced professional, rather than someone who is just entering the legal field.

4. Why Doesn’t Oberheiden, P.C. Call Itself the Best Healthcare Law Firm in Detroit?

Because this is the sort of thing that means far more when it comes from our prior clients than it ever could, were it to come from us. You can read our prior clients’ testimonials here.

Reach Out to an Oberheiden, P.C. Detroit Healthcare Fraud Defense Lawyer

If you or your healthcare company in Detroit needs legal guidance on how to comply with a law or regulation, or if you have been sued or suspect that you are under investigation for healthcare fraud or misconduct, you need effective legal representation. Call our Detroit law office at (313) 462-7972 or our national intake hotline at (888) 680-1745 or contact us online to get started on your case.