The first quarter of 2015 witnessed a continuing effort by government lawyers to push the boundaries of criminal statutes in white collar cases—from health care fraud to corporate misconduct and beyond. Two recent cases illustrate the federal government's aggressiveness and the courts' mixed reaction to it.

Seventh Circuit Broadens Reach of Anti-Kickback Statute -

The Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. §§1320a-7b), long one of the government's favorite tools in health care prosecutions, now applies even more expansively after the Seventh Circuit's ruling in U.S. v. Patel, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 14-2607, February 10, 2015). In Patel, the Seventh Circuit upheld the conviction of Kamal Patel, a Chicago-area physician, for violating the Anti-Kickback Statute by accepting cash payments in exchange for certifying patients for home health care services. The court did so even though Dr. Patel did not actually refer any patients to any particular provider.