DOJ Mishandled Privileged Documents in $1B Fraud Probe: Court

Federal prosecutors in a $1 billion nursing home fraud case shouldn’t be able to use some 1,000 seized documents and other evidence because federal agents committed misconduct in the handling of privileged materials, a federal magistrate judge found.

Documents, messages, and recordings that might qualify for attorney-client privilege or work product protection were mishandled and inappropriately reviewed as part of the federal investigation into a South Florida nursing home operator Philip Esformes, the judge found in an Aug. 10 report.

Agents led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation failed to set aside all but a handful of privileged documents ...