Kenneth J. Walsh // Vice President
Professional Experience
Chase & Associates, Inc.
Vice President, Tampa, FL July 2006 - Present
Mr. Walsh joined Chase & Associates to manage the firm's health care related investigative and litigation support for law firms and corporate clients. For over thirty years as a Special Agent with the FBI, Mr. Walsh specialized in health care fraud, public corruption, and other complex white collar crime cases. Chase & Associates also provides expertise in forensic accounting, fraud detection, due diligence, consulting, expert witness services, and training.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Special Agent and Professional Support, May 1971 - May 2006
Mr. Walsh was employed continuously by the FBI for over thirty-five years during which he was required to maintain a Top Secret security clearance. While working as a Professional Support employee, Mr. Walsh earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree cum laude from the University of Memphis. Upon completion of training at the FBI Academy in 1976, Mr. Walsh was assigned as a Special Agent to FBI offices in Miami, Chicago, Nashville, and Tampa.
In Miami, Mr. Walsh was mentored by senior, experienced agents while working bank robbery, fugitive, and white collar crime cases. In Chicago, Mr. Walsh focused on more complex and long-term public corruption and white collar crime matters. As a case agent on the investigation of the Cook County Board of Tax Appeals, Mr. Walsh operated several cooperative individuals who provided tape-recorded and documentary evidence of a vast scheme to fraudulently reduce commercial and residential real estate tax assessments in return for bribes. Mr. Walsh and a team of fellow agents reviewed thousands of files and conducted hundreds of interviews, while working with federal prosecutors to prepare cases for indictment and trial. The case resulted in the convictions of three Deputy Commissioners and twenty-two other public officials, attorneys, and tax consultants, and $885,000 in fines and restitution. Cook County filed lawsuits to recover $25 million in illegally reduced taxes and at least $60 million in future tax losses were prevented. Mr. Walsh's investigations also resulted in convictions of the Chief of Police and Deputy Chief of a Chicago suburb, a young man who firebombed the residence of a black minister and his family, and a number individuals involved in bank and insurance fraud schemes.
Mr. Walsh was assigned to the Nashville Resident Agency for an undercover role in Operation Rocky Top, a long-term public corruption and tax evasion probe of professional gamblers fronting as charitable organizations and their accomplices in government. Mr. Walsh forged relationships with legislators, lobbyists, and businessmen to obtain evidence regarding illegal gambling operations and bribes paid for protection and influencing legislation. Mr. Walsh resolved the Rocky Top cases opened in the Western District of Tennessee by working closely with the Internal Revenue Service and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Rocky Top resulted in seventy-five convictions statewide, including current and former state legislators and officials of the Tennessee Department of State and state Election Commission. Mr. Walsh also obtained convictions in financial institution, bankruptcy, and insurance fraud cases and served for eight years as the media spokesperson for the FBI in Nashville and the Middle District of Tennessee.
Mr. Walsh transferred to Tampa and was soon assigned to the criminal and civil investigations of the nation's largest for-profit hospital corporation. The case was national in scope and required extensive liaison with FBI Headquarters and other field offices, the Department of Justice, and defense counsel retained by the company. Mr. Walsh coordinated a team of agents from the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and the Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) tasked with meeting investigative and prosecutive deadlines. This process included the review and analysis of Medicare cost reports, accounting work papers, correspondence, and other records to prepare for lengthy, detailed interviews and grand jury and trial presentations. Two corporate executives were convicted at trial in Tampa, but had their convictions reversed on appeal; however, subsidiaries of the parent company paid approximately $1.7 billion to the government pursuant to plea agreements and settlements.
Mr. Walsh also worked with DCIS, MFCU, and the DEA on investigations of national drug store chains resulting from Qui Tam (whistleblower) complaints. In these cases, Medicaid paid in full for prescriptions that were only partially-filled, but did not receive credit for pills not picked up by beneficiaries that were returned to stock and resold. The investigation involved the review of billing records, correspondence, contracts, and email and interviews of numerous corporate officials. One company agreed to a $1.6 million settlement and the other entered into a plea agreement under which a subsidiary was sentenced to five years probation, $1.7 million in fines, and $9.88 million in restitution.
Mr. Walsh also teamed with the Veterans Administration - Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to investigate government program fraud cases that resulted in numerous convictions and fines and restitution in excess of $1.5 million.
Mr. Walsh worked closely with several United States Attorney's Offices to plan and pursue the course of investigations, obtain and analyze evidence, and charge and prosecute his cases. Mr. Walsh also conducted FBI background investigations regarding White House appointees and other government personnel to assess their suitability to serve in positions of trust, responsibility, and confidence with the United States government.
Education and Training
- University of Memphis, Bachelor of Business Administration, cum laude - 1973
- FBI New Agent Training
- FBI Undercover Agent Training
- FBI Media Relations Seminar
- FBI Agent Applicant Assessor Training and Recertification, 1990 - 2005
- FBI and DOJ Public Corruption, Bankruptcy and Health Care Fraud Seminars
- Annual Health Care Fraud Training Conferences, 1997-2004
- National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) Annual Training Conferences, 1999 and 2004
Commendations and Awards
Mr. Walsh received numerous commendations and awards for exceptional performance from the FBI and other agencies, to include the following special awards:
- HHS-OIG Cooperative Achievement Award - 2001
- FBI Director's Award for Excellence in Investigation - 2001
- Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service - 2001
- HHS-OIG Inspector General's Integrity Award - 2006