The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York recovered more than $68,000,000 in 2025 through settlement agreements and enforcement actions, according to a Mar. 20 announcement by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo.
The recoveries highlight ongoing efforts to address fraud, waste, and abuse involving government programs. The Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit led these actions, focusing on civil claims under the Federal False Claims Act and related statutes.
Among the notable settlements in 2025 was a payment of more than $50,000,000 by Pfizer on behalf of its subsidiary Biohaven to resolve allegations that Biohaven paid kickbacks to providers for prescribing its drug Nurtec. Additionally, five cases involving Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud resulted in the recovery of more than $10,000,000. The ACE Unit also resolved matters unrelated to the False Claims Act, including self-disclosed overpayments to federal health care programs and claims involving the Railroad Retirement Board pension program.
DiGiacomo said, “The settlements and recoveries achieved by the ACE Unit in 2025 demonstrate this Office’s commitment to protecting taxpayer money. My office will continue to aggressively root out fraud, waste, and abuse involving government programs and hold those responsible accountable.”
The ACE Unit serves as the civil arm of the U.S. Attorney’s Office investigating misconduct under the Federal False Claims Act. This law allows for recovery of both losses and additional damages from fraudulent conduct reported by whistleblowers or entities with inside information.
Individuals with knowledge about fraud are encouraged to report it to federal authorities through various hotlines or online complaint forms provided by agencies such as HHS Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud.
