A former health care fraud chief at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York has joined a Long Island-based firm to lead its practice representing clients in the industry.

Kenneth Abell, who spent the last 10 years at the Eastern District prosecutor's office, joined 95-attorney firm Abrams Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman, Formato, Ferrara, Wolf & Carone this month as a partner and head of its health care fraud and white-collar criminal defense group. To his knowledge, he said, he is the first former federal prosecutor from the Eastern District to join the growing firm.

For the last four years, Abell, 45, was chief of health care fraud for the Eastern District's civil division, supervising about 20 to 25 other federal prosecutors. The practice he led has grown, investigating more qui tam cases filed in the Eastern District in recent years, he said.