Among the many issues raised by President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14173 (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”) targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs is the prospect...more
2/7/2025
/ Contractors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Liability ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers
Whistleblowers filed 979 qui tam lawsuits under the False Claims Act (FCA) in Fiscal Year 2024—the highest number in a single year and 35% more than in the prior year—the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Overall,...more
1/23/2025
/ Compliance ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblowers
A recent Florida district court decision declared that the False Claims Act’s (FCA) qui tam provision violates the Constitution by vesting executive power in private whistleblowers (relators) that have not been appointed by...more
10/25/2024
/ Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Florida ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
SCOTUS ,
Title II ,
Unconstitutional Condition ,
United States ex rel Polansky v Executive Health Resources Inc ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it initiated a record-high 500 new False Claims Act (FCA) cases in Fiscal Year 2023. The government and whistleblowers (qui tam relators) were party to 543 settlements and...more
2/26/2024
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Investigations ,
Qui Tam ,
Settlement ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council published two proposed rules on October 3, 2023, that would impose significant new cybersecurity obligations on government contractors, including requiring them to share...more
A defendant’s knowledge of and subjective beliefs about the meaning of legal requirements—not what an objectively reasonable person may have believed—are what matters when determining whether a defendant “knowingly” submitted...more
6/6/2023
/ Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Oral Argument ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Safeco ,
Safeco Insurance Co of America v Burr ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
US ex rel Thomas Proctor v Safeway Inc ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained more than $2.2 billion in civil False Claims Act (FCA) judgments and settlements in fiscal year (FY) 2022, the lowest such annual total since 2008 and a significant drop from a...more
2/10/2023
/ Business Litigation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recovered more than $5.6 billion in civil False Claims Act (FCA) judgments and settlements in fiscal year (FY) 2021, the second largest ever annual total in FCA recoveries and the largest...more
2/3/2022
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Healthcare ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an initiative to pursue civil False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement actions against government contractors that knowingly fail to follow required cybersecurity...more
10/12/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DFARS ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Oversight
As the government revives its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with hundreds of billions of dollars in additional loans available to small businesses, there are fresh signs that government fraud investigations and...more
2/8/2021
/ Borrowers ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Eligibility ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FIRREA ,
Fraud ,
Internal Investigations ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Risk Factors ,
Safe Harbors ,
SBA ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recovered more than $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases under the False Claims Act (FCA) in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020. This is a drop of more than...more
1/20/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Devices ,
Qui Tam ,
Recovery Audit ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblowers
Businesses that receive government funding under the nearly $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) should be mindful of the heightened risks of government investigations of fraud, waste,...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a settlement with hospice company AseraCare, closing a 12-year-old saga that carries substantial implications for False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement in cases involving a...more
3/10/2020
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Evidence ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospice ,
Jury Instructions ,
Medical Necessity ,
Medicare ,
Motion For New Trial ,
Objective Falsity ,
Remand
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recovered more than $3 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving the False Claims Act (FCA) in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, according to statistics released...more
Whistleblowers bringing qui tam suits under the False Claims Act have up to ten years to file suit against defendants in cases in which the government declines to intervene, the U.S. Supreme Court has held, rejecting a...more
5/20/2019
/ Appeals ,
Cochise Consultancy Inc v United States ex rel Hunt ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
First-to-File ,
Government Officials ,
Intervenors ,
Oral Argument ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations