Category: Federal False Claims Act
In a split 2-1 decision March 28th, the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the automatic 60 day sealing provision of the False Claims Act. The suit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Government Accountability Project and OMB Watch, alleges the secrecy unlawfully blocks the public’s access to judicial proceedings and violates the whistleblower’s right to freedom of speech by forbidding them to discuss the misconduct.
The whistleblower recently awarded $1.1 million by the Internal Revenue Service had initially exposed Enron’s fraudulent practice of generating fictitious income by using abusive tax shelters to the IRS back in 1999. Erika A. Kelton of the Washington law firm Phillips & Cohen, was quoted saying, “If the IRS had pursued this information in 1999 when my client first informed them of these abusive tax shelters,
Former Medline Industries, Inc. employee turned whistleblower, Sean Mason, will receive $23.4 million of the $85 million Medline will pay to settle Mason’s lawsuit alleging false claims act violations. Mason’s complaint accuses Medline, an Illinois medical products company, of inducing medical providers such as HCA, Inc. and HealthSouth Corp., with fraudulent kickbacks in the form of “rebates”,
A telecommunications company, and a New York financial firm have agreed to pay more than $16.5 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit claiming they defrauded the government. Avaya, which provided desktop phone systems to hundreds of federal and state agencies, was alleged to have billed the government for equipment and maintenance even when the devices didn’t work or had been replaced with upgraded systems.
The article, “The IRS’s Proposed Amendments to Its Informant Reward Program” authored by Marc S. Raspanti and Douglas K. Rosenblum was published in The Legal Intelligencer on March 2, 2011. Mr. Raspanti is a partner in the firm’s Philadelphia office and Mr.
On February 11, the SEC appointed Sean McKessy, former corporate secretary for AOL and Altria group (Phillip Morris) to head its new whistleblower program. McKessy was previously an attorney in the SEC’s enforcement division. Because of his corporate background, many worry that he will be an impediment to creating an effective SEC whistleblower program.
The office manager of a wheelchair manufacturer pleaded guilty to conspiring with a church pastor that defrauded Medicare of over $6 million. The defendant admitted to submitting false claims for high-end power wheelchair and other medical equipment provided to Medicare beneficiaries that did not need them. The defendant also admitted to destroying documents in an attempt to cover up the fraud.
On February 17, U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, announced that a joint Department of Justice and Health and Human Services Medicare fraud strike task force made its largest arrest ever in connection with a false billing investigation. In total, 111 individuals were arrested and 16 search warrants were executed across the country in connection with the investigation.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is advocating for a state false claims act similar to the federal act. DeWine recognized the benefits of having a state false claims act, having recovered $10 million as its share of a recent FCA settlement with CareSource of Dayton under the Federal False Claims Act.
The article, “Proposed SEC Rules Undermine Dodd-Frank’s Whistleblower Incentives,” authored by Marc Raspanti and Bryan Neft was published in The Legal Intelligencer, February 10, 2011. Mr. Raspanti is a partner in the firm’s Philadelphia office and Mr. Neft is a partner in the firm’s Pittsburgh office.
