We represent healthcare providers, professionals, and organizations facing federal healthcare fraud matters. Our practice focuses on investigations, audits, and criminal charges involving billing practices, government programs, and regulated pharmaceutical activities.
Medical Billing Fraud
Defense for healthcare providers accused of improper billing practices involving Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and other programs, including upcoding, duplicate claims, and billing discrepancies that may trigger audits or federal investigations.
Medicare Fraud
Legal representation for providers under Medicare scrutiny, including billing disputes, audits, and fraud investigations. We help clients respond to allegations while working to protect their practice, credentials, and compliance standing.
Medicaid Fraud
Defense for healthcare professionals facing Medicaid fraud allegations related to billing errors, documentation issues, or regulatory violations that may result in audits, administrative penalties, or criminal exposure.
Healthcare Fraud Investigations
Representation for individuals and entities targeted in federal healthcare fraud investigations by agencies such as the DOJ, FBI, OIG, or FDA, including responses to subpoenas, interviews, and investigative demands.
Healthcare Audit
Guidance and defense during healthcare audits conducted by government agencies or contractors, addressing overpayment claims, compliance findings, and issues that may escalate into civil or criminal enforcement actions.
Pharmaceutical Diversion
Defense for healthcare professionals accused of improper handling, distribution, or recordkeeping involving prescription or controlled medications, including matters that may affect licensing and federal regulatory compliance.
If you’re facing federal charges and prosecutors are closing in, call Lowther | Walker to fight back. Our defense lawyers are available 24/7 to respond to your urgent case questions.
Regardless of your situation or location, Mr. Lowther and Mr. Walker will collaborate with you to craft a robust defense, ensuring your freedom and safeguarding your rights.
Experienced Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys
Personal Representation
Availability & Active Client Support
We Specialize in Federal Criminal Defense Cases
Free No-Obligation Consultation
Thousands of Clients Represented Across the U.S. and Abroad
Our Team of Federal Health Care Fraud Defense Attorneys
Frequently Asked Questions About Healthcare Fraud Defense
What Is Considered Healthcare Fraud?
Healthcare fraud can involve allegations such as improper billing, upcoding, unbundling services, kickbacks, false claims, or misrepresentations to Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurers. In many cases, providers are investigated even when errors were unintentional.
Can I Be Charged Before an Audit or Investigation Is Finished?
Yes. Federal investigations often begin long before formal charges are filed. Audits, subpoenas, or contact from federal agents may indicate a criminal investigation is already underway. Early legal representation is critical.
Should I Hire a Lawyer If I’m Only Under Investigation?
Absolutely. Many healthcare fraud cases are built during the investigation phase. Speaking to investigators without counsel can significantly increase your risk. A defense attorney can protect your rights and guide how — or if — you respond.
What Penalties Can Healthcare Fraud Carry?
Penalties may include substantial fines, asset forfeiture, exclusion from federal healthcare programs, and prison time. The severity depends on the allegations, amounts involved, and whether the government claims intent.
What Should I Do If Federal Agents Contact Me?
Do not answer questions or provide documents without speaking to a lawyer. You have the right to remain silent and to have legal counsel present. Early missteps can be difficult to undo later.
Who Do You Represent in Healthcare Fraud Cases?
We represent doctors, nurses, medical practices, clinics, billing companies, healthcare executives, and other professionals facing federal healthcare fraud allegations or investigations.
Is My Consultation Confidential?
Yes. All consultations are confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege. Speaking with a lawyer does not obligate you to move forward — but it can help you understand your options.
Request Your Free Confidential Consultation
No matter what charges you are facing, the easiest way to overcome them is by hiring highly-experienced federal criminal defense attorneys.
Ten Defendants Charged in $1.4 Billion Rural Hospital Pass-Through Billing Scheme
On March 21, 2023, a federal jury acquitted defendants Aaron Durall, Christian Fletcher, Neisha Zaffuto, and Aaron Alonzo of the charges alleged in the indictment described in the press release below.
Ten individuals, including hospital managers, laboratory owners, billers and recruiters, were charged in an indictment unsealed today for their participation in an elaborate pass-through billing scheme using rural hospitals in several states as billing shells to submit fraudulent claims for laboratory testing. The indictment alleges that from approximately November 2015 through February 2018, the conspirators billed private insurance companies approximately $1.4 billion for laboratory testing claims as part of this fraudulent scheme, and were paid approximately $400 million.
Jorge Perez, 60, of Miami-Dade County, Florida; Seth Guterman, 54, of Chicago, Illinois; Ricardo Perez, 57, of Miami-Dade County, Florida; Aaron Durall, 48, and Neisha Zaffuto, 44, each of Broward County, Florida; Christian Fletcher, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia; James Porter Jr., 49, of Marion County, Florida; Sean Porter, 52, of Citrus County, Florida; Aaron Alonzo, 44, and Nestor Rojas, 45, each of Miami-Dade County, Florida, were charged in an indictment filed in the Middle District of Florida....
Joshua Sabert Lowther, Esq., is a native of coastal South Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, magna cum laude, from the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. While at the John Marshall Law School, Mr. Lowther ranked fifth in his graduating class, and was the recipient of the prestigious Wig and Gavel award, by nomination of the faculty, for his being the “most likely to succeed in the practice of law.”
Since his becoming an attorney, Mr. Lowther has practiced law exclusively in the area of criminal defense. He began his career defending clients in federal and state courts in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area, and he has since expanded that practice to include federal trial, appellate, administrative, and tribal courts across the United States.
While Mr. Lowther enjoys and participates in every aspect of the firm’s practice, courtroom advocacy remains his passion. He has tried federal criminal cases and argued federal criminal appeals across the United States with remarkable results.
He is a member of the following professional associations:
Association of Federal Defense Lawyers
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
State Bar of Georgia
Atlanta Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
Murdoch Walker, II, Esq.
Murdoch Walker, II, Esq., is a native of Portland, Maine. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Union College in Schenectady, New York, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, cum laude, from the Charleston School of Law in Charleston, South Carolina. While at the Charleston School of Law, Mr. Walker earned a CALI Award in Legal Research and Writing.
Since becoming an attorney, Mr. Walker has practiced law exclusively with Lowther | Walker LLC, and its predecessor firm, the National Federal Defense Group. He began his career with the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan; after sixteen months as a Trial Preparation Assistant with one of the office’s six trial bureaus, he spent almost three years as an Investigative Analyst with the Homicide Investigation Unit. Eventually, Mr. Walker relocated to the greater Hilton Head Island area of South Carolina, where he worked for approximately six years as both a narcotics investigator assigned to a state multi-jurisdictional drug task force and as a criminal investigator employed with the local prosecutor’s office’s Career Criminal Unit. For the majority of his tenure in narcotics investigation, Mr. Walker served as the area’s sole Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force Officer, primarily investigating federal drug trafficking crimes.
Mr. Walker has coupled his vast experience in criminal investigations and prosecutions with his knowledge of federal criminal and asset-forfeiture law, and accordingly, focuses his practice on defending clients in federal trial and appellate courts nationwide.
He is a member of the following professional organizations:
Association of Federal Defense Lawyers
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
State Bar of Georgia
Katryna Lyn Spearman, Esq.
Katryna Lyn Spearman, Esq., is a native to The Woodlands, Texas. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, focusing on Business Law and Ethics, from The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree from the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia, where she excelled in criminal law courses.
Since becoming an attorney, Ms. Spearman has practiced law exclusively in the area of criminal defense, and now focuses her practice in the areas of federal criminal trial litigation and Government investigations throughout the United States, which has yielded extraordinary results. She particularly enjoys sentencing mitigation and working with the firm’s female clients.
She is a member of the following professional organizations:
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
State Bar of Georgia
Bingzi Hu, Esq.
Bingzi Hu, Esq., is a native of Hunan, People's Republic of China. She earned a Master’s Degree in Civil and Commercial Law from the Beijing Technology and Business University in Beijing, P.R. China, and a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Since becoming an attorney, Ms. Hu has practiced law exclusively in the area of criminal defense, first with a prominent Atlanta, Georgia-based federal and state criminal-defense law firm, and now with Lowther | Walker LLC. Ms. Hu’s research and writing capabilities are unsurpassed, and she focuses her practice in the areas of pretrial motions, appellate, and post-conviction relief litigation in federal criminal cases, and related federal administrative and regulatory matters, with extraordinary results. The Times-Georgian reported that she is “one of the best white-collar crime and appellate lawyers in [Georgia].”
She is a member of the following professional organizations:
