On January 8, 2021, in the first appellate decision of the year addressing a False Claims Act case, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of relators’ claims that a manufacturer of allergenic extracts...more
1/12/2021
/ Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Protected Activity ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Relators ,
Scienter ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar
In what may be the beginning of a wave of enforcement actions, the Justice Department charged an organization and its leadership with dual healthcare and securities fraud charges. The prosecution underscores the risks facing...more
While COVID-19 has forced the closure of schools across the country, the United States Department of Education (“ED”) has issued much-anticipated rule that will impose significant new obligations for schools - in particular,...more
5/12/2020
/ Colleges ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Investigations ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
The CARES Act allocated $100 billion in relief funds to hospitals and other healthcare providers, to be distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) through the Public Health and Social Services...more
As the public health and economic responses to COVID-19 dominate the headlines and traditional government enforcement actions slow, anticipate a significant increase in government enforcement actions, internal investigations...more
Although the SBA and Federal Reserve lending programs are getting the most coverage, a provision buried in the nearly 900 page Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act might have more immediate and...more
On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed a $2 trillion federal stimulus package (the largest in U.S. history) by an historic 96-0 vote. The Bill now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives (vote expected Friday, March 27)...more
With COVID-19 emergency orders in place, can you continue construction? This question is addressed on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis, evaluating the text of the emergency order to assess whether construction projects,...more
As policy-makers and industry look for responses to the COVID-19 crisis, one tool is in plain sight: the Defense Production Act of 1950 (the “DPA”). The DPA, already on the books, is tailor-made for the national effort...more
Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice issued a press release to announce recoveries of over $3 billion from False Claims Act cases in FY2019. In making the announcement, Assistant Attorney General Jody...more
1/28/2020
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Materiality ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
The Granston Memo ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Whistleblowers
The United States government has an arsenal of agencies and civil and criminal statutes at its disposal to choose from in investigating and combatting healthcare fraud. A recent federal indictment discussed below exemplifies...more
12/20/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Government Investigations ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Indictments ,
Kickbacks ,
Safe Harbors ,
SDVOSB ,
Statutory Penalties ,
Treble Damages ,
Veterans Administration
The False Claims Act (“FCA”) is an ever-present concern among health care providers and counsel, which is why it is no surprise that the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated...more
The Justice Department announced this week the formation of a new Procurement Collusion Strike Force, which will focus on “deterring, detecting, investigating and prosecuting antitrust crimes, such as bid-rigging conspiracies...more
11/7/2019
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Fraud ,
Leniency Programs ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Subcontractors ,
Teaming Agreements
The past 18 months have been a (relatively) wild time for the False Claims Act - on the books since 1863. In FY2018 the Department of Justice obtained more than $2.8 billion in settlements and judgments from cases involving...more
8/26/2019
/ Appointments Clause ,
Article III ,
Cochise Consultancy Inc v United States ex rel Hunt ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Materiality ,
Objective Falsity ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Separation of Powers ,
Split of Authority ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tolling ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar
The United States Department of Justice this month released a revised and consolidated set of guidelines for determining cooperation credit for organizations facing exposure under the False Claims Act. The consolidated...more
On May 13, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt, No. 18–325, and resolved a circuit split regarding the statute of limitations for an FCA claim brought by a relator...more
5/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Cochise Consultancy Inc v United States ex rel Hunt ,
Dismissals ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Intervenors ,
Limitation Periods ,
Qui Tam ,
Reaffirmation ,
Relators ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tolling
This month the Department of Justice brought a “first of its kind” action against two pharmacies, their owner, and three pharmacists for allegedly dispensing and billing Medicare for prescriptions in violation of both the...more
The Justice Department announced in a recent press release that it obtained more than $2.8 billion in settlements and judgments from cases involving fraud and false claims against the government. The vast majority of this...more
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, William Barr, is in the news for a June 2018 memo to top Justice Department officials criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller’s obstruction-of-justice investigation. ...more
For most individuals and organizations, it does not get much worse than the threat of a criminal conviction. But for recipients of Federal funds—whether providers, grantees, or contractors—a federal criminal conviction is...more
9/25/2018
/ Collateral Estoppel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Estoppel ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Plea Agreements ,
SBIRs ,
STTR ,
Suspensions & Debarments ,
Wire Fraud
In recent years the buzz in organizational criminal liability has come from so-called “individual liability” for acts of corporate wrongdoing—the idea that managers and employees are not immune from individual prosecution for...more
In recent weeks, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued two memoranda that might change the calculus of False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases. The memoranda at a minimum provide organizations with new—or at least...more
Institutions and organizations are increasingly expected to conduct a thorough, neutral investigation of allegations of impropriety, misuse of authority, and sexual harassment, among many other issues. No organization, public...more
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma once again have forced the construction industry to focus on best practices for responding to force majeure events.
Now is the time to put into action an effective recovery plan with the aim of...more
Under 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)(1)(A) it is a felony for a physician to solicit or receive a kickback “in return for referring” a Medicaid or Medicare patient to another medical provider. But as a recent decision by the Eighth...more