Special Assistant Attorney General

State of careers Rhode Island

19h • Onsite

About The Position

The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General is seeking an experienced attorney to join the Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control and Patient Abuse Unit (“MFCU”) as a Special Assistant Attorney General (“SAAG”). The MFCU SAAG will handle complex criminal and civil investigations and enforcement actions involving allegations of Medicaid fraud, patient abuse and neglect, financial exploitation, drug diversion. This position provides a unique opportunity to practice both criminally and civilly. The Attorney General is the state’s top lawyer and law enforcement official, protecting and serving the people and interests of Rhode Island through a broad range of duties. Every day, the Office’s attorneys fight to ensure the public safety of the state’s communities, improve the economic security of its citizens, safeguard the state’s spectacular natural resources, and restore the public’s trust in government. Assistant and Special Assistant Attorneys General represent the people of Rhode Island in civil and criminal matters before trial courts, appellate courts, and the supreme courts of Rhode Island and the United States. The Office is unique among attorneys general offices across the country. Out of fifty states, only two other offices share the same broad criminal mission. The Office’s attorneys prosecute complex and violent crimes but also functionally serve as one of the nation’s largest district attorney’s offices, prosecuting all felonies throughout the state. The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) is a specialized unit charged with ensuring the financial integrity of Rhode Island’s Medicaid program. The MFCU brings criminal and civil actions against healthcare providers who defraud the Rhode Island Medicaid program. The MFCU also works to protect elderly and disabled Rhode Islanders by investigating and prosecuting criminal and civil cases of abuse, neglect, and mistreatment, and financial exploitation of patients in long-term care facilities and Medicaid members in healthcare settings in the state. A MFCU SAAG reports to the Director of the MFCU. The MFCU employs attorneys, investigators, and an auditor, and case coordinator who work together to conduct investigations and prosecutions. Possessing both civil and criminal enforcement powers, MFCU uses various state laws, including the state False Claims Act, to bring civil actions and criminal proceedings. The MFCU partners with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat and deter fraud, recover taxpayer dollars, and protect the most vulnerable in our society from exploitation and abuse by their caregivers. The MFCU is annually certified by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The MFCU receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $1,326,428 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $442,142 for FY 2025, is funded by the State of Rhode Island.

Requirements

• A law degree from an accredited law school.
• Active member in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction.
• Eligible for admission to the Rhode Island Bar and prepared to sit for the bar exam (if not a member of the Rhode Island Bar).
• At least six to eight years of litigation experience.
• Self-motivated.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and discretion while working within a collaborative team structure.
• Superior legal research and writing skills.
• Excellent communication and advocacy skills.
• Capacity to function at a high level in a demanding environment.
• Ability to maintain working relationships with other state and federal government employees.
• Ability to communicate with members of the public.

Nice To Haves

• Background and experience in complex civil litigation.
• Healthcare fraud enforcement.
• Qui tam/False Claims Act matters.

Responsibilities

• Prosecute criminal cases and litigate civil cases in Rhode Island State and Federal courts.
• Manage a caseload involving complex criminal and civil investigations and enforcement actions involving allegations of Medicaid fraud, patient abuse and neglect, financial exploitation, drug diversion.
• Work with federal and state agency partners on joint investigations and on national teams with other states to handle multi-state litigation, including qui tam cases.
• Prepare cases in state and federal courts and conduct trials.
• Present cases to the Grand Jury.
• Interview witnesses.
• Prepare pleadings and conduct research for trials.
• Respond to pre-trial motions and discovery requests.
• Attend various courts for arraignments, hearings, pre-trial and post-trial motions.
• Draft administrative and civil investigative demands as well as complaints for civil and criminal cases.
• Take and defend depositions.
• Negotiate settlements, pleas, and dispositions.
• Prepare periodic activity reports.

Benefits

• For information regarding the benefits available to State of Rhode Island employees, please visit the Office of Employee Benefits' website at http://www.employeebenefits.ri.gov/.
• Direct deposit for all employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees