BOSTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Massachusetts), published as received.
BOSTON – United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced today that, in Fiscal Year 2026, the District of Massachusetts entered into settlements with defendants for more than $133 million and collected more than $164 million in criminal and civil actions. Of the collections, the Office recovered $31 million in criminal actions and $132 million in civil actions. The Office also recovered more than $35 million in forfeited assets.
Additionally, the District of Massachusetts worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and Department of Justice components to collect more than $162,849,201 in cases pursued jointly by these offices.
“The more than $164 million collected, $35 million forfeited and over $133 million secured through settlements this fiscal year represent far more than numbers. They reflect our Office’s relentless pursuit of those who exploit public taxpayer-funded programs, abuse positions of trust and seek to profit through fraud and criminal conduct. We will continue using every tool available to recover stolen funds, return money to victims and ensure that wrongdoing carries meaningful consequences.”
In Fiscal Year 2026, the Office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit (ACE) entered into 26 settlements with defendants totaling $133,198,525. These included a $46 million settlement with Veloxis to resolve criminal and civil allegations of kickbacks to healthcare professionals related to its marketing of its drug, Envarsus; a $15 million settlement with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute concerning fraud related to cancer research grants; and a $14.5 million settlement with Laboratory Corporation of America concerning medically unnecessary claims for urine drug testing to Medicare. The settlements also reflect the Office’s continued efforts to recover funds unlawfully obtained through the Paycheck Protection Program, which assisted businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic, the ACE Unit has entered into settlements totaling $166,434,620 with businesses concerning allegations of fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program.
In Fiscal Year 2026, the Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) was responsible for collecting more than $31,330,511 in restitution for victims, criminal fines and special assessments, as well as forfeiture of $35,315,258 in criminal proceeds or other property involved in crimes.
During Fiscal Year 2026, ARU filed six civil forfeiture complaints to recover cryptocurrency alleged to be traceable to financial fraud scams targeting Massachusetts victims, including romance and elder fraud, and other illicit activity. ARU obtained a final order of forfeiture for more than 100 wildlife parts including orangutan skulls, tiger skulls, jaguar skin and other parts from endangered, threatened and protected species. With the Department of Justice, ARU distributed more than $12.4 million in previously forfeited funds from Roger Knox and his co-conspirators to over 8,000 securities fraud victims.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the Department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice’s Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
The District of Massachusetts’ Civil Division is led by Assistant United States Attorney Abraham R. George, Chief of Civil. Assistant United States Attorney Brian LaMacchia, Chief of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit, leads the District’s efforts in affirmative civil enforcement and Assistant United States Attorney Carol Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit, leads the District’s forfeiture and restitution efforts.
