What Healthcare Executives Should Do After Receiving a Federal Subpoena
A federal subpoena is a formal demand for records, testimony, or both, and it arrives with a deadline. Chapman, Dowling & Mallek, based in Detroit, takes on federal subpoena defense for health systems, clinics, and the people who run them. Our Detroit healthcare fraud defense lawyer begins with what you do in the first few days.
Which Type of Federal Subpoena Did You Receive?
Start by reading who sent it. A grand jury subpoena means prosecutors are running a criminal investigation, while an administrative subpoena from an agency can support a civil case, a criminal case, or both. HHS-OIG subpoena compliance depends on a few details printed on the document:
- The agency or court that issued it
- The response deadline
- The date range of the records
- Whether testimony is required
A request for documents and an order to testify call for different preparation. Counsel can often negotiate a narrower request or more time before anything is produced.
Responding to a Federal Subpoena: First Steps for Executives
Decisions you make during the first week can affect the rest of the investigation. Before contacting investigators or providing records, take the following steps:
- Stop record deletion: Send a written hold notice and have IT turn off automatic deletion of emails, billing logs, and backups.
- Consult counsel first: Let healthcare executive legal counsel lead the initial review before you forward the subpoena or raise it at a board meeting, so those early discussions remain protected.
- Clarify your status: Ask whether investigators consider you or the company a witness, subject, or target.
Avoid discussing the subpoena with employees or potential witnesses without counsel’s advice. Prosecutors can bring charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1518 for hiding or destroying records to obstruct a federal health care investigation. A conviction can carry up to five years in prison.
Why Does a Medicare Fraud Investigation in Detroit Reach Other States?
Detroit has long had a federal Health Care Fraud Strike Force. Local cases often involve the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, and HHS-OIG agents.
Those cases do not always stay in Michigan. A health system may have facilities in several states or use a billing company elsewhere, and agencies set their priorities nationally. A subpoena response may need to account for prosecutors in more than one office.
Send the Subpoena to Our Detroit Healthcare Fraud Defense Lawyer Before You Respond
On a first call, our attorneys read the subpoena with you, identify who issued it, and explain what the deadline requires. Ron Chapman, who leads Chapman, Dowling & Mallek, was a federal prosecutor and a U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate before he turned to defense work.
Our nationwide federal defense attorney can respond in the federal district where your subpoena was issued, and our clients have come from every state. The consultation is free, and you can reach one of our attorneys directly at (346) 242-7626 or send us the details online.