In another sign of the Department of Justice’s focus on health care fraud prosecutions, the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Jersey has split its securities and health care fraud unit and named a new chief dedicated to health care fraud.
Maureen Ruane (Lowenstein Sandler)
Maureen Ruane, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler PC, will take over as the head of the health care fraud unit in late May.
“Health care fraud is front and center across the board and we’re adjusting to the circumstances,” New Jersey Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Martinez said in an interview with Main Justice.
Under the reorganization, ten prosecutors, including Ruane, will focus exclusively on health care fraud. The securities fraud section will merge with the computer hacking and intellectual property unit to create a unit of 16 assistant U.S. attorneys.
Just five years ago, the combined section had nine attorneys in total, said John Vazquez, a former assistant U.S. attorney who used to head the section and is now a partner at Critchley, Kinum & Vazquez LLC.
“I think the office scored a home run,” Vazquez said about the new hire. “By splitting [the unit] and bringing in someone of Maureen’s caliber, the office is sending a message that it is taking health care very seriously.”
The Justice Department has signaled it intends to aggressively pursue health care fraud, requesting a $60 million increase in its budget for fiscal 2011 to combat it. In a major settlement the DOJ announced Tuesday out of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, AstraZeneca PLC will pay $520 million to settle claims it promoted off-label uses for some of its drugs.
New Jersey, too, has been active on the health care front. In 2006, the largest hospital system in the state, Saint Barnabas Corporation, paid $265 million to settle allegations that it defrauded Medicare. In 2007, five replacement joint manufacturers entered deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements to settle allegations that they illegally paid surgeons to use their products. Last year, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey paid $8 million to settle allegations of illegal kickbacks to cardiologists.
Ruane will join the U.S. Attorney’s office at on May 24, her second tour of duty with the office. In 1998, she joined the U.S. Attorney’s office working on appeals, then moved to the criminal division where she investigated and tried cases in bank fraud, consumer fraud, interstate theft and money laundering.
After she jumped to private practice at Lowenstein Sandler PC in 2004, Ruane represented pharmaceutical and health care companies on civil matters and in investigations. She served as co-lead counsel to Schering Plough in defending against shareholder lawsuits challenging its merger with Merck. She also represented Bristol Myers Squibb in environmental lawsuits.
In an interview, Ruane said her background will help her understand how to communicate with companies from the other side of the table. For example, she said, a lot of the problems at pharmaceutical companies are happening at a lower level, so if companies feel like they will be dealt with fairly, they may be more apt to self-disclose.
“It is absolutely a new and exciting opportunity, when so much of the nation is focused on health care,” Ruane said. “New Jersey is home to so many pharmaceutical companies, it’s a key state where we should look very carefully at what is happening.”
