The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced recently that settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq. (FCA) totaled approximately $2.7 billion in FY 2023 (October 1, 2022 – September 30,...more
3/12/2024
/ Civil Investigation Demand ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Qui Tam ,
Third-Party Liability ,
Whistleblowers
On January 12, 2021, the Eastern District of California entered into a civil settlement with a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) borrower and its CEO to resolve allegations of fraud. The settlement stemmed from a $350,000...more
1/15/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FIRREA ,
Fraud ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Qui Tam ,
Settlement
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
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 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 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
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
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
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
In a unanimous decision on June 16, 2016, the Supreme Court charted a middle course between competing interpretations of the scope of False Claims Act. Universal Health Servs., Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, Case No....more
The Department of Justice announced late last month that pharmaceutical manufacturers Wyeth and Pfizer would pay $784 million to resolve a False Claims Act investigation and qui tam lawsuit arising from Wyeth’s failure to...more
5/3/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Medicaid ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Qui Tam ,
Reimbursements ,
Settlement ,
Wyeth
In an opinion issued on January 27, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a qui tam lawsuit against the University of Massachusetts, holding that the University was...more
For 23 years, the Ninth Circuit required that a relator establish three elements to qualify as an “original source” under the False Claims Act: (1) the relator must have direct and independent knowledge of the information on...more
7/8/2015
/ Appeals ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
First-to-File ,
Medicare ,
Original Source ,
Public Disclosure ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Wang Requirements