** Shares of healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth UNH.N rise 2.1% to $476.85

** A court-appointed special master has found that U.S. authorities lack evidence for their billion-dollar fraud case against UNH, which alleges the company kept overpayments from Medicare

** Special Master Suzanne Segal's recommendation on Monday isn't final, but if U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin adopts it, the DOJ's claims against the health insurer will be dismissed

** Stock has fallen 3% in the past 12 months

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan)

((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com))