The US Department of Justice has expanded its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force into Philadelphia, announcing charges against 19 defendants in an alleged $4 million (£3.1 million) Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme. The move, unveiled on Tuesday, forms part of a wider federal and Pennsylvania state effort to crack down on fraud involving home health care services and to protect taxpayer-funded health programmes from abuse.

The expansion establishes a new strike force office within the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, bringing together the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division with the US Attorney's Office for that district. Federal and state authorities jointly announced the charges alongside a broader anti-fraud initiative intended to strengthen future investigations into health care fraud.