ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Senator Grassley Proposes Amendments
Strengthening The False Claims Act
Private Citizens Recover Billions For Government
The False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, imposes liability on persons and companies who defraud the government and rewards individuals who help the government recover money lost as a result of that fraud. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), long a proponent of the FCA, recently announced proposed amendments to the law that would strengthen the FCA and allow for more effective policing of government contract fraud. The California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent whistleblowers who bring FCA cases and believe the proposed amendments are important advances against government fraud. If you have original information of fraud against the federal or State government, call us today at (415)441-8669.
Senator Grassley’s proposed amendments would reverse two recent setbacks to the FCA. First, the amendments would reverse a 2018 Department of Justice (DOJ) policy, known as the Granston Memo, which encourages DOJ attorneys to dismiss FCA cases brought by qui tam whistleblowers. Dozens of important and meritorious cases throughout the country have been dismissed because of the Granston Memo. Second, the amendments would reverse a section of the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar, 579 U.S. ____ (2016),136 S. Ct. 1989, 195 L. Ed. 2d 348, which allows for the dismissal of FCA cases if the government had knowledge of the fraud.
The Importance of Private Citizen Whistleblower Cases
Individual citizens recover billions of dollars lost to government fraud every year through private whistleblower cases. The proposed FCA amendments are more important now than ever before as reported cases of fraud against the government multiply each year and particularly during this COVID-19 pandemic. The National Whistleblower Center released a statement in support of Grassley’s proposed amendments. John Kostyack, NWC Executive Director, said, “With these strengthening amendments, the False Claims Act will be the most effective law for combatting government contractor fraud at a time when action against these frauds is greatly needed. We must make sure that the American people suffering from this virus do not see their tax dollars diverted by those who would use fraud to profit at their expense.”
Contact Us
In addition to cases brought under the False Claims Act, our whistleblower attorneys also represent whistleblowers in CFTC cases, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cases for securities fraud (related to stocks, bonds, private placements and variable annuities for example), banking fraud under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cases for tax fraud, particularly offshore tax avoidance schemes, and False Claims Act cases against corporations defrauding the government for payments or reimbursements.
If you have information regarding a whistleblower/qui tam case in San Francisco, Alameda or Marin Counties or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
