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There are countless examples in recent news highlighting the potential for far-reaching consequences when wrongdoing goes unchecked, and when whistleblowers face unbridled public scrutiny. Safety hazards could result in serious injuries or even further loss of life and financial penalties and reputational damage could be significant. By protecting whistleblowers, taking their concerns seriously, and even…

The question of whether the False Claims Act (FCA) requires a showing of objective falsity will continue to divide the circuit courts following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to address the issue.

To establish liability under the FCA, which prohibits the defrauding of the government, an individual must demonstrate actual knowledge that the claim…

In a letter to the President dated tomorrow (March 27, 2020), several hundred federal judges, former U.S. Attorneys, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials are asking the government to implement a plan to dramatically reduce the number of incarcerated individuals in the federal prison system and to address “the threat of disastrous…

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5–to-3 decision, has ruled that federal law enforcement may not freeze an accused’s assets needed to pay criminal defense lawyers if the assets are not linked to a crime. Luis v. United States, No. 14-419 (Mar. 30, 2016).

A federal statute provides that a court may freeze before…

Two former executives at one of the nation’s leading healthcare claims processing firms, MultiPlan, Inc., were recently sentenced to serve one year and one day in federal prison for their role in a scheme to steer contracts to technology vendors in exchange for $3.4 million in bribes and kickbacks.

Keith Bush, MultiPlan’s former Vice President…

The Justice Department announced that it secured a record $5.69 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014 (“FY2014”).  This marks the first time the Justice Department recovered more than $5 billion in these cases, bringing the total recoveries under the False…

Continuing a trend we reported in January 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced another multi-million dollar settlement of alleged False Claims Act (“FCA”) violations.  In this case, Halifax Hospital Medical Center and Halifax Staffing, Inc. (collectively “Halifax”) agreed to pay $85 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting…

Hospice of the Comforter, Inc. (HOTCI) agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting false claims to the Medicare program for hospice services provided to patients who were not eligible for the Medicare hospice benefit.  HOTCI did not admit any liability in the settlement.  The…