By Mani Dabiri | Published February 9, 2018 | Posted in Civil Business Litigation and Investigations, Government Subpoenas and Investigations, White-Collar and Regulatory Defense | Tagged Tags: businessandcommerce, departmentofjustice, DOJ, falseclaimsact, jurisdiction, whistleblowers |
A Tale of Two Memos for White-Collar Cases and Whistleblowers
In the past month, the U.S. Justice Department has released two memoranda that will affect civil enforcement generally and the False Claims Act specifically. The first memo confirms that DOJ will more actively dismiss the whistleblower cases it turns down rather than let them run their course. The memo follows a surprise announcement in October Read More
Read MoreDOJ Will Clear Out Weak Qui Tam Cases
In a surprise announcement, the U.S. Justice Department says it will start moving to dismiss weak whistleblower cases brought under the False Claims Act rather than let them run their course. The announcement was made at a recent conference by the Director of Commercial Litigation for the Fraud Section of the Department’s Civil Division. I Read More
Read MoreDon’t Keep The Change, Doc
Meaning, don’t just pocket the difference when the government overpays you for healthcare goods or services. Recently, a medical group agreed to pay $450,000 to settle allegations that it refused to return $175,000 in overpayments that it received from federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Here’s the government’s press release. The overpayments at issue tend to happen in medical Read More
Read MoreDouble, Triple Whammies and Rewards
Speaking of the False Claims Act, get ready to buckle up. Starting Monday, an interim final rule by the U.S. Justice Department will nearly double the statute’s civil monetary penalties for each false claim. The minimum penalty will go from $5,500 to $10,781, and the maximum penalty will go from $11,000 to $21,563. For defendants, this means you’re looking at a Read More
Read MoreThe Scope of Fraud for Government Contractors
This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision for government contractors and the whistleblowers who sue them under the federal False Claims Act. The bottom line may be this: contractors must abide by a myriad of rules, regulations, and contractual provisions in doing business with the government, but if they don’t, not every misstep, only the material ones, can Read More
Read MoreCMS Issues Final “Overpayments” Rule for Medicare Parts A and B
Speaking of healthcare—providers, suppliers, and other stakeholders should take note that, last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its long-awaited final rule for reporting and returning overpayments under Medicare Parts A and B. The rule defines “overpayments” to include any funds you receive or retain that you’re not entitled to after applicable reconciliation. The CMS published its rule for Medicare Read More
Read MoreBlowing the Whistle in the Public Domain
Suppose you’re privy to some major government fraud, and you’re thinking of blowing the whistle on it. That could be good because, under the federal False Claims Act (FCA), you may stand to receive anywhere from 15-30% of whatever the government can recover. Multiply that by millions or even billions of dollars in damages, and you’ve got quite a bounty. Read More
Read MoreIn the Light of Perpetual War
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided an important case that was closely watched by lawyers who prosecute and defend whistleblower actions. The background is the False Claims Act, which was passed in 1863 to fight rampant fraud in Civil War defense contracts. The FCA imposes liability on anyone who knowingly presents a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the government. Read More
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