U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects $23.5 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions in Fiscal Year 2024

ST. LOUIS to U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced today that the Eastern District of Missouri collected $23.5 million in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2024. Of this amount, $11 million was collected in criminal actions and $12.5 million was collected in civil actions. Additionally, the Eastern District of Missouri worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect $16.9 million in cases pursued jointly by these offices, the majority of which was collected in civil actions.

Among the civil settlements were two cases involving allegations of false claims for medical services. Total Access Urgent Care (TAUC) paid $9.1 million and a Festus pain management doctor, Dr. Nehal Modh paid $1.2 million . Nearly $1 million of the total collected in criminal actions came from a continuing case against two Jefferson County chiropractors who aided their clients in committing disability fraud. So far, 27 patients have pleaded guilty and been ordered to repay fraudulently-obtained disability payments. More than $880,000 was recovered in fiscal year 2024 from the garnishment of the retirement accounts belonging to two doctors who pleaded guilty in separate criminal cases. About $628,000 was recovered from Dr. Amy Swegan , who admitted accepting kickbacks from telemedicine companies involved in a nationwide fraud scheme. Nearly $255,000 was collected from Dr. Ashu Joshi , who distributed child pornography involving the daughter of a former patient. “These cases show that our Financial Litigation Unit will aggressively pursue restitution for victims and taxpayers, even if it takes years after a case is resolved,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs. Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $5.6 million in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2024. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.