U.S. Attorney Predicts $600 Million in Recoveries for Health Care Fraud in Central Florida Over Next Two Years

On July 29, Law360, a prominent legal newsletter with over 400,000 daily recipients, reported on an interview with the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, A. Lee Bentley, III. Bentley highlighted the Middle District’s aggressive pursuit of potential False Claims Act violations and the possibility of hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

In the interview, Bentley stated that the Middle District of Florida leads the nation in qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuits with 51 being filed just last year. Bentley predicted that recoveries in his district could total as much as $600 million for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 based on “some really big things in the works.” Bentley stated that the office’s strategy has focused on hospitals: “Going against the hospitals we think is very effective because they have the deep pockets.”

Bentley also highlighted the overlap between civil and criminal enforcement, stating that “A lot of these [investigations] start on the civil side, and they come over to the criminal side.” In response to the volume of cases in the District and enforcement priorities, the U.S. Attorney stated that he intended to fill as many as nine open positions with attorneys capable of pursuing white collar cases.  

We encourage you to read the article in its entirety. For more information, please contact the Carlton Fields attorney with whom you usually work, or the authors of this alert.

©2026 Carlton Fields, P.A. Carlton Fields practices law in California through Carlton Fields, LLP. Carlton Fields publications should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information and educational purposes only, and should not be relied on as if it were advice about a particular fact situation. The distribution of this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Carlton Fields. This publication may not be quoted or referred to in any other publication or proceeding without the prior written consent of the firm, to be given or withheld at our discretion. To request reprint permission for any of our publications, please use our Contact Us form via the link below. The views set forth herein are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the firm. This site may contain hypertext links to information created and maintained by other entities. Carlton Fields does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this outside information, nor is the inclusion of a link to be intended as an endorsement of those outside sites.