Virginia's attorney general's investigative team has recovered more than $21 million from Medicaid fraudsters, a haul pulled from a program that provides joint state and federal health care coverage to low-income and disabled residents across the commonwealth.
The figure was reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which covers state and regional politics out of the capital. The newspaper reported recoveries from personal care services fraud in Spotsylvania and Prince William counties, cases in Henrico County, and a mental health agency fraud case, with recoveries broken down by provider and case types.
The matching $21 million figure appears in a Virginia attorney general’s office announcement dated Nov. 4, 2013: then-Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said it came from two settlements involving Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary Janssen over allegations including marketing antipsychotic drugs for unapproved uses. Virginia’s share of the broader, $1.6 billion multistate resolution was about $17.4 million; the announcement said nearly $10 million would go to Medicaid restitution. Janssen also agreed to plead guilty to a federal misdemeanor misbranding charge, as part of the resolution described in the attorney general’s announcement.
What the Recovery Included
The team recovered the money last year, during the fiscal year that ended June 30. The more than $21 million included $17.8 million from criminal cases and $3.3 million from civil cases.
A 2019 review by Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission examined the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, as described in the JLARC review of the unit.
Why Medicaid Fraud Matters to Virginians
Virginia’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit dates to 1982 and investigates and prosecutes provider fraud as well as patient abuse and neglect; its work includes civil enforcement actions in addition to criminal cases. The office describes the unit’s focus as protecting vulnerable residents—including older people, people with disabilities, children and low-income Virginians—and taxpayer funds. That broader remit helps explain why a recovery total can encompass different kinds of cases and legal outcomes, as outlined on the Virginia attorney general’s unit page.
Medicaid fraud recoveries carry weight because the program itself is designed to serve some of the state's most vulnerable residents. Every dollar diverted through fraud is a dollar that does not reach the low-income and disabled Virginians the coverage is meant to support, underscoring why attorney general investigators dedicate resources to chasing down these cases.
The reported total includes more than $21 million in recoveries across criminal and civil cases.
