Justice Department Sets Fraud Trial Record as New Charges Fall

The Justice Department’s criminal fraud section caught up from pandemic court delays to obtain a record high of 56 convictions from 51 trials last year as new indictments of individuals and corporate resolutions decreased.

The convictions at trial came mostly from the 38 individuals prosecuted by the health care fraud unit in 2022. Overall, there were more trials and convictions last year than 2020 and 2021 combined, according to the department’s annual fraud section report released Wednesday.

The record trial year was “in large part due to” courts postponing proceedings because of the coronavirus pandemic, a department spokesman said. ...