Category: Qui Tam

Why Protecting Whistleblowers Pays Dividends ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER At a time when businesses and governments seem more eager than ever to cover up their wrongdoings, it’s worth asking what benefit there is in strong whistleblower protections. The benefit to the whistleblower is obvious: these protections enable them to act on their […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance this week regarding their whistleblower protections. This reinforced their stance that whistleblowers are protected against retaliation even if they report internally within their company, rather than to the agency, first. The Dodd-Frank Act, which created the SEC whistleblower program, had whistleblower […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Thanks to whistleblower George Karadsheh, a doctor who was improperly giving patients chemotherapy was stopped. Dr. Farid Fata, a Michigan doctor, was recently sentenced to 45 years in jail. According to prosecutors, Fata mistreated over 500 patients. In some cases, he was administering chemotherapy to people who did […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Two pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca and Teva Pharmaceutical’s Cephalon unit, have settled with the government after facing claims about rebates underpayment to Medicaid programs. The two companies have agreed to pay over 50 million dollars as a result of the Medicaid fraud allegations. This is one of the latest […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Securities and Exchange Commission paid out $3 million to a whistleblower who helped the commission crack a complex fraud case. The whistleblower, a company insider, received the third-highest award given by the SEC whistleblower program thus far. The whistleblower’s tip led to related actions, and gave very […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Internal Revenue Service recently released their 2014 annual report to Congress on its whistleblower program. Although awards paid by the IRS whistleblower program decreased in 2014, the agency expects to pay out more in 2015. According to the report, the IRS whistleblower program paid out 101 awards […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Department of Justice announced that a Medicare fraud case against AseraCare hospice facilities will start August 3, after a half-dozen employees filed whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act. The company could owe up to $202 million. The whistleblowers, and the Department of Justice, which elected to […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Fraud investigation and enforcement activity against healthcare providers has been increasing, as the government uses the False Claims Act to pursue whistleblowers’ claims of fraud and abuse. This has been particularly evident with long-term care providers. The False Claims Act, sometimes referred to as the Lincoln Law, was […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Nursing home network Hebrew Homes agreed to pay $17 million to settle a False Claims Act suit brought by their former CFO. According to the CFO, Hebrew Homes allegedly violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits the exchange (or offer to exchange), of anything of value, in an effort […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Supreme Court’s opinion in Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex. Rel. Carter has mixed implications for both relators and the defense side. The court’s ruling on the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act (WSLA) and the “first to file” provision of the False Claims Act […]