Zachary A. Cunha

/My focus

I bring a depth of experience handling and supervising criminal, civil, and civil rights cases and investigations at all levels of complexity across multiple industries, including healthcare, defense, and education, at every stage from investigation through litigation – both in federal district court and on appeal.

From 2021-2025, I served as US Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, where, as the state’s Presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed chief federal law enforcement officer, I supervised and led a team of dedicated federal prosecutors as they built complex prosecutions, frequently with national reach and scope.

I also served as a leader within the US Attorney community, tapped to sit on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, a small group of US Attorneys who advise Justice Department leadership on matters of policy, and co-chairing the Steering Committee of the Department’s Opioid Epidemic Civil Litigation Task Force, where I helped devise and advance the Department’s strategy in multiple cases under the False Claims and Controlled Substances Acts.

Ove the course of my 20-year career with DOJ, I also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, the District of Massachusetts, and the District of Rhode Island, where I handled complex, often nationally significant cases and investigations, while at the same time holding leadership roles including Chief of the Civil Division in Rhode Island, and Chief of the District of Massachusetts’ nationally-prominent Affirmative Litigation Practice. There, I handled and supervised multiple groundbreaking healthcare fraud and False Claims Act matters, including as a member of the prosecution team that recovered what was, at the time, the largest healthcare fraud recovery in US history, and for which I was recognized with DOJ’s highest honor: the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service. 

Among other areas, my work with DOJ focused extensively on:

• The federal False Claims Act and its state equivalents (including civil investigative demands);
• Every aspect of affirmative and defensive civil litigation, from inception through resolution;
• Civil and criminal health care fraud enforcement; 
• Civil rights enforcement, by DOJ and in partnership with other federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education;
• Supervising and directing agency investigations; 
• Challenges to federal agency action under the Administrative Procedures Act. 

/Representative experience

Prior Government Experience

US ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND, 2021–2025

• Led and managed a staff of federal prosecutors and paraprofessionals handling all criminal and civil litigation within the District of Rhode Island, including violent crime, cybercrime, civil rights, and opioids
• Oversaw and expanded a robust criminal and civil white-collar and healthcare fraud practice, including cases brought under the False Claims, Food Drug and Cosmetic, and Controlled Substances Acts
• Handled briefing and argument of significant cases at both the district court and circuit level
• Served as a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) as well as the AGAC’s white-collar and controlled substances subcommittees, and as co-chair of the Justice Department’s Opioid Epidemic Civil Litigation Task Force, working with senior Department leadership in coordinating enforcement efforts

CHIEF, CIVIL DIVISION, 2018–2021

• Supervised all civil litigation and appeals involving the United States in the District of Rhode Island and the First Circuit, managing a team of civil Assistant US Attorneys and support staff
• Personally handled a varied caseload of complex civil, appellate, and criminal matters, with emphasis on white-collar fraud and affirmative civil enforcement under the False Claims Act, and asset forfeiture
• Appointed to serve on the Department’s national Civil Chiefs’ Working Group

ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND, 2013–2021

ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, CHIEF, AFFIRMATIVE LITIGATION UNIT, 2008–2013

• Responsible for the investigation and prosecution of healthcare, grant, and procurement fraud under the False Claims Act, the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act, as well as other civil and criminal matters in the District of Massachusetts and the First Circuit, both at the pre-filing investigative stage, as well as in active litigation, on trial, and appeal
• Served as Chief of the District’s nationally recognized Affirmative Litigation Unit from 2012–2013. In that capacity, responsible for supervising and reviewing all affirmative litigation and investigations conducted by the Civil Division. Served as Deputy Chief of Affirmative Litigation, 2010–2012.

ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY, EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, 2005–2008

• Responsible for handling all aspects of affirmative and defensive civil litigation involving the United States, in the Eastern District of New York, as well as before the Second Circuit
• Extensive experience in motion, pretrial, trial, and appellate practice
• Specific areas of focus included labor and employment, affirmative civil penalty, healthcare fraud, environmental and civil RICO litigation, and defensive constitutional, policy, and immigration matters, as well as civil and criminal asset forfeiture cases

ASSISTANT CORPORATION COUNSEL, SPECIAL FEDERAL LITIGATION DIVISION

NEW YORK CITY LAW DEPARTMENT, 2001–2005

• Extensive experience of all aspects of litigation on behalf of the City of New York and its officials in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York from inception through jury trial

/Looking ahead

A rapidly changing federal regulatory and enforcement landscape presents complex challenges in multiple sectors for business, nonprofits, and educational and research institutions. As the Administration’s priorities come into focus, early trends suggest that the False Claims Act will remain a central enforcement mechanism to leverage policy compliance in the higher education, government contracting and other sectors.

With the FCA explicitly referenced in at least one significant Executive Order, expect to see extensive litigation surrounding the materiality of new contract and grant conditions. Similarly, a changing regulatory landscape will likely give rise to direct challenges to federal rulemaking, as well as the need to navigate a rapidly changing enforcement and investigative landscape. All of this will play out across industries, with a significant impact on the healthcare, government procurement, and education sectors.

/Insights

Presentations

• Frequent speaker at conferences and CLE presentations, including for the New England Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Rhode Island Bar Association, on topics such as healthcare fraud, prosecuting corporate executives, government enforcement trends, and the False Claims Act
• Keynote Speaker: R.I. Lawyer’s Weekly Excellence in the Law Awards, Jun. 7, 2022