P.J.Meitl

Each year, NAFUSA recognizes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for outstanding performance through the J. Michael Bradford Memorial Award. The award is named after J. Michael Bradford, who served as a U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas from 1994 to 2001. Bradford, who died in 2003, had a distinguished career in public service, including successfully defending the government against lawsuits stemming from the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian’s compound in Waco, Texas. NAFUSA annually solicits nominations from current U.S. Attorneys for the Bradford Award. Typically, the recipient has handled a significant investigation and prosecution or a series of prosecutions which has had a significant impact and merits special recognition.

Once again, a number of exceptional nominations were made by U.S. Attorneys around the country. The J. Michael Bradford Award Committee was chaired by NAFUSA Vice President Paul Coggins. Its members included Donna Bucella, Paul Charlton, Barry Grissom, and Karen Hewitt. This year, the Board voted to give the award to AUSA P.J. Meitl of the Northern District of Texas, nominated by U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox, who wrote:

In 2017, AUSA Meitl completed the case of United States v. Jacques Roy, et al, 3:12-CR-0054-L, the largest criminal investigation and prosecution of a single physician for health care fraud in the history of the Department of Justice. Before his arrest, Dr. Roy falsely certified more than 12,000 individual beneficiaries for more than 500 home health agencies in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, submitting more than $373 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid for payment.  Dr. Roy caused the deaths of at least three patients, and harmed countless more through blatant medical malpractice.  He was not just an unrepentant con man, but a dangerous one.

Due in large part to AUSA Meitl’s efforts, Dr. Roy was sentenced in August 2017 to 35 years’ imprisonment. This case had a significant impact not just because Dr. Roy’s enormous criminal fraud ring was destroyed, but was also a model of seamless cooperation in health care fraud prosecution efforts by law enforcement agents from HHS-OIG and the FBI.

In just five years with the Department of Justice, AUSA Meitl has prosecuted more than 500 defendants and participated in more than 15 jury trials.  While the Dr. Roy prosecution was ongoing, AUSA Meitl still worked tirelessly to prosecute 89 members of North Texas white supremacist groups in Operation “Vanilla Ice”.  

Other nominees were: 

Emil J. Bove (Southern District of New York)

Daniel A. Chatham (Northern District of Iowa)

Zia M. Faruqui (District of Columbia) 

Elizabeth Gabriel (District of Columbia) 

Julie K. Hampton (Southern District of Texas)

Michael J. Hunter (Southern District of Ohio) 

Nathaniel Kummerfeld (Eastern District of Texas)

Timothy M. O’Shea (Western District of Wisconsin)

Perry H. Piper (Eastern District of Tennessee)

Keith W. Reisenauer (District of North Dakota) 

Matthew W. Shepherd (Northern District of Ohio)

Deborah Sines (District of Columbia) 

Richard M. Tucker (Eastern District of New York) 

Gordon A.D. Zubrod (Middle District of Pennsylvania)