SHIREEN MATTHEWS

SAN DIEGO - Shireen Matthews is a Jones Day white collar defense partner whose practice focuses on health care investigations, parallel civil and criminal proceedings and government regulatory matters. She joined the firm in 2013 after more than five years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District.

"A clerkship got me to San Diego and I never left," she said, noting that during her time in the chambers of now-retired U.S. District Judge Irma E. Gonzalez, she developed an interest in both health care matters and the work of prosecutors.

"My time with Judge Gonzalez was so impactful. She became a mentor and friend," Matthews said. "After watching prosecutors work in her courtroom I wanted to be an AUSA. And there was a big health care fraud trial in the courthouse while I was there, and that sparked my interest too."

Gonzalez advised her to get some law firm experience, so after a few years as an associate at Latham & Watkins, she joined the U.S. attorney's office. There she rose to become criminal health care fraud coordinator. She and her unit prosecuted violations of the anti-kickback statute, criminal false claims cases and aggravated identity theft.

Matthews then signed on with Jones Day. In 2019, President Trump nominated her to a vacant seat on the U.S. District Court; the American Bar Association rated her well qualified, but the nomination expired when Trump's term ended. "I was honored to be nominated, but I'm excited about my practice and the life I have," Matthews said.

"Health care fraud is interesting both because it's about government dollars and because some cases go criminal and some go civil," Matthews said.

In one recent major case, Matthews represented the operator of a large chain of skilled nursing facilities accused of improprieties in its billing practices for therapy services. Matthews' experience came in handy, because demonstrating that a skilled nursing facility provides proper levels of therapy requires extensive knowledge of the government's Medicare requirements, plus the client's clinical protocols and procedures. The government's investigation included 60-plus facilities and alleged misconduct over several years.

Matthews successfully advocated for a reduction in the number of facilities at issue and the time period of the claims under investigation. The government declined to bring criminal charges, and Plum settled the false claims matter for $451,000. U.S. ex rel. Kristine Davenport v. Plum Healthcare Group LLC et al., 2:16-cv- 02670 (E.D. Cal., filed June 14, 2021).

"A lot of my practice involves working with health care providers to navigate the regulations and maintain compliance standards," Matthews said. "I'm excited to have this excellent practice."