DOJ Announces $1.6B EKRA Prosecution, Largest Ever
The Department of Justice’s latest fraud takedown targets substance‑abuse facilities, marking the biggest Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act case to date.
On Oct. 22, 2026, the DOJ announced a sweeping fraud operation in Los Angeles that led to 15 criminal charges across a $2 billion portfolio of allegedly irregular claims. Central to the action were two cases under the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA), carrying $1.6 billion in private‑insurance billing for unearned substance‑abuse treatments. The indictment alleges patient recruiters—labelled “body brokers”—offered lavish kickbacks, from money and free flights to illicit drugs, to lure vulnerable patients into facilities while disguising reimbursement as salaries. Alongside the EKRA charges, the takedown also targeted Medicare and Medi‑Cal fraud, including unperformed surgeries, hospice abuses, and unnecessary prescriptions. The prosecution’s scale is unprecedented, potentially prompting a wave of EKRA actions nationwide. Compliance teams should scrutinize referral, payment, and marketing arrangements in recovery, laboratory, and related health‑care sectors, as EKRA’s strict safe‑harbor rules and DOJ’s stance against variable employee compensation now loom larger than ever.