Civil Division
Daniel F. Van Horn, Chief
The Civil Division represents the United States and its departments
and agencies at both the trial and appellate levels in civil actions
filed in this jurisdiction. The activities of the Civil Division
primarily involve defensive civil actions in the United States District
Court and United States Court of Appeals. The types of cases handled
by the Civil Division include allegations of discrimination; suits
under the Federal Tort Claims Act; challenges to agency actions
and government procurement under the Administrative Procedure Act;
requests for the amendment of records under the Freedom of Information
Act and Privacy Act; and the defense of government officials sued
in their individual capacities. The Division also brings civil actions
to recover money owed the United States Government by those who
submit false claims or commit fraud against the government, as well
as actions against those who have failed to repay student or veteran
loans or other debts to the United States.
Affirmative Civil Enforcement
The Civil Division of this Office has an active and highly successful
Affirmative Civil Enforcement ("ACE") program, through which we
address fraud, waste and abuse in a wide variety of government activities.
Through the ACE program, the United States uses civil statutes to
recover money lost due to fraud or other misconduct by government
contractors; to stop ongoing fraudulent conduct such as telemarketing
schemes; and to impose civil penalties for violations of environmental,
health and safety laws. As the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Nation’s
Capital, we are in close proximity to the Inspectors General of
all major federal agencies, and have developed strong working relationships
with them.
Health care fraud is a priority of our ACE effort, and we have successfully
pursued cases involving overcharges and other abuses of Medicare
and Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP),TRICARE (formerly
CHAMPUS), and other federal health programs. Many millions of dollars
have been recovered from the perpetrators of schemes such as: physicians
billing for services not provided; clinics mischaracterizing services
rendered so as to inflate the payment received; and hospitals billing
for laboratory tests and other services not medically necessary.
In the FEHBP program, we have recovered millions from health maintenance
organizations that charged excessive premiums to the United States
by failing to provide to the government the discounts accorded their
commercial subscribers.
Fraud in the housing programs of the Department of Housing & Urban
Development is another priority for our ACE program. In addition
to recovering money from building owners and managers who have failed
to maintain HUD-assisted property in decent, safe and sanitary condition,
we have obtained judicial orders mandating installation of security
devices, hiring of security staff, repairs of structural damages,
prompt eviction of tenants engaged in criminal activity, and other
remedies to eliminate activities that degrade the quality of life
in a neighborhood. We aggressively pursue these cases using both
federal and District of Columbia statutory authority.
Fraud in government procurement and grant programs is a continuing
focus of our ACE effort, and we have secured substantial recoveries
from defense and civilian contractors for overcharging in the provision
of a variety of goods and services to the government.
Questions about our Affirmative Civil Enforcement program should
be directed to:
Affirmative Civil Enforcement Coordinator
United States Attorney’s Office
District of Columbia
555 Fourth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
(202) 514-7228
