ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER

Government Attachments Help Secure Whistleblower Awards

Potential Millions in Whistleblower Award

The HDL Labs/BlueWave Medicare fraud scam is the biggest clinical lab fraud scam yet in the health care industry. A whistleblower (or “qui tam”) lawsuit brought several years ago by a private individual exposed the fraud. The government took interest and joined the suit. Ultimately, prosecutors unraveled hundreds of violations of the federal False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by a group of clinical labs and promoters. Basically, the labs overcharged the government and bribed doctors and hospitals for referrals through illegal kickbacks. The extent of the fraud grew; some estimates put the fraud at $1.2 billion

With numbers that big, securing assets for eventual recovery is critical. With a proper showing, prosecutors can execute writs of attachment against wrongdoer’s assets before final judgment, both to repay the government and award the whistleblower down the road. In the case of the BlueWave defendants, prosecutors argued that defendants will owe the United States and the whistleblower at least $298 million. The court allowed the attachments to proceed in order to secure that debt. This maneuver helps the whistleblower too. Whistleblowers typically receive around 20% (or more) of any recovery so the whistleblower’s award could be $60 million or more.

The main reason the government acted quickly to attach assets was that defendants began to actively conceal and dispose of assets in anticipation of a big, adverse judgment. The lesson here for whistleblowers is that where your information is credible and serious enough, the government can – and will – act. If you think you may have information of a Medicare fraud, tax fraud, securities fraud or other fraud against the government, seek out professional assistance before approaching the government. Counsel can help you sift through documents, organize your evidence and spot meaningful issues for prosecutors.

Contact Us

If you have information regarding Medicare or Medicaid fraud, tax fraud, securities fraud, or any other fraud against the government and are looking to be a whistleblower in San Francisco County or in any California county, contact the Evans Law Firm elder attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our attorneys have experience with complex qui tam or whistleblower cases, complex financial contract cases and cases against 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, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.