On December 1, 2020, the Council of the District of Columbia passed the False Claims Amendment Act of 2020, B23-0035 (the “Amendment”).[1] The Amendment extends the reach of DC’s existing False Claims Act to also cover tax fraud—a type of fraud that was previously excluded. This change means that whistleblowers will become able bring a qui tam suit against tax fraudsters, which they…
A recent False Claims Act settlement against a charter school demonstrates that schools and tech companies may violate the law if they engage in bid-rigging and kickbacks during the procurement process. Concept Schools, NFP, a charter school company based in Illinois, agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle claims by the Government that Concept Schools rigged the bidding for its technology vendor…
A qui tam case can be brought against a government contractor, such as a defense contractor, for violating its contract with the government. Defense contractor fraud is considered one of the most active areas of whistleblower litigation since the government spends billions of dollars on defense contracts with companies around the world. Some of the more common ways a defense contractor can…
Kickbacks are hidden financial arrangements between a person and an organization. Usually, these types of cases involve fraud in the healthcare system and can come in several forms. However, one basic principle is in every kickback case – the healthcare provider will provide some sort of benefit in return for other providers to prescribing or using that provider’s services or…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently voted to accept long-anticipated revisions to the rules governing its whistleblower program. While not all of the changes present a boon to whistleblowers, one modification clearly does—because under revised Rule 21-F6, there is now a presumption that, for many awards, the SEC will pay a whistleblower the statutory maximum award of 30 percent…
As with any lawsuit, you should have all the essential ingredients needed to make a successful whistleblower case. But sometimes, especially if you’ve never had to deal with the legal system before, there are always missing pieces or you do something that will jeopardize your case. Avoid these mistakes when you’re about to file your qui tam claim: Make sure you have the right lawyer. This…
Whistleblowers are critical in a False Claims Act case. Not only are they key witnesses to an act of wrongdoing against the government, but they can help stop actions that may endanger the public welfare. If a whistleblower claim is done properly, it can also lead to a substantial financial award. It’s important that you take the right steps in filing a…
Qui tam cases are brought by whistleblowers against companies who have committed fraudulent acts against the U.S. government in order to receive economic gain. Fraud against the Government comes in many forms, but some of the most prevalent types of qui tam cases are: Kickback CasesMany qui tam cases target kickbacks paid to induce Government healthcare services, such as Medicare and Medicaid, or other Government…
Federal regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the DOJ, have issued alerts. They fully expect that fraudsters and scam artists will try to dip into the $2 trillion Coronavirus relief package that Congress just passed. Neil Barofsky, who served as Inspector General when the Bush Administration passed the much smaller TARP relief bill in 2008,…
The SEC recently made a notable decision to provide an award to a whistleblower who had compliance-related responsibilities at the company where the whistleblower worked. The award of $450,000 was the SEC’s third whistleblower award to an individual who had compliance or internal audit responsibilities, according to the SEC’s press release. The SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs, which were established by…