Michael Sullivan, Author at Finch McCranie LLP

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Michael Sullivan

Addendum: IRS Whistleblower Office Is Off to a Strong Start . . .

May 16, 2007
Michael Sullivan

I posted earlier today on this whistle blower lawyer blog about the comments of the Director of the new IRS Whistleblower Office, Stephen Whitlock, on how the IRS Whistleblower program is off to a good start, with credible claims and supporting evidence having been submitted by whistleblowers and their attorneys.

Since then, my partner commented that he believes one of our larger cases was referred to in the IRS Director’s comments about “knowledgeable insiders.” We also neglected to mention our IRS Whistleblower
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New IRS Whistleblower Director Says IRS Rewards Program Is Off to a Strong Start

May 16, 2007
Michael Sullivan

The head of the new IRS Whistleblower Office, Stephen Whitlock, reports that the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program is off to a strong start.

Today’s Wall Street Journal quotes Mr. Whitlock as saying that the claims submitted to the IRS Whistleblower Office to date appear to have credibility and have evidence to support them.

Since the new IRS Whistleblower program was authorized by Congress in December, our firm has been working with the IRS in pursuing whistleblower claims in the Midwest,
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Whistleblower Case Victory in D.C. Bid-Rigging Trial

May 15, 2007
Michael Sullivan

A qui tam whistleblower and his lawyer are very happy as a result of a $102 million jury verdict–to be shared by the whistleblower–in a False Claims Act trial that ended on May 14.

The defendants in this whistleblower case included Bill Harbert International Construction Inc.; Harbert Construction Services; Bilhar International Establishment; Harbert Corp.; and Harbert International. The case alleged bid-rigging on three U.S. government-funded construction contracts in Egypt in the 1980s and 1990s.

The jury found that defendants violated the False Claims Act and awarded $34 million in damages, which are “trebled” under the False Claims Act.

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“Lessons from Health Care Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid” to Begin on This Whistleblower Lawyer Blog

May 8, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Because health care fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid programs is such a huge problem, this week our whistleblower lawyer blog writers (former federal prosecutors who are now whistleblower attorneys) begin a series of posts on “Lessons from Health Care Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid.”

We will discuss how whistle blowers in the medical services profession have been important resources in revealing and stopping health care fraud in hospitals, nursing homes, physicians’ practices, and the pharmaceutical or drug industry. We also discuss how the
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Texas Upgrades Its Qui Tam Whistleblower Statute–and Considers An Even Better Whistleblower Law

May 7, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Just after Georgia, New York, and Oklahoma have passed new whistleblower laws similar to the federal False Claims Act to protect at least state Medicaid funds, Texas is poised to do even more.

We were pleased to see that, on May 4, Texas upgraded its already successful Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act. The changes were designed to allow Texas to receive a greater share of Medicaid fraud recoveries, as we have written about previously on this whistleblowerlawyerblog. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 creates
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Oklahoma Joins Nationwide Movement of States That Are Passing False Claims Acts with Qui Tam Whistlblower Provisions

May 3, 2007
Michael Sullivan

We are pleased to see yet another state–Oklahoma–realize how effective qui tam whistleblower laws are by passing a state False Claims Act this week.

The Oklahoma legislature has passed the Oklahoma Medicaid False Claims Act (SB 889). The bill’s primary author was Cox Crain.

The new whistleblower law appears to be modelled on the federal False Claims Act. As we have written about often on this whistleblower lawyer blog, states that pass such laws with qui tam whistleblower provisions that are at least as effective
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“Heathcare Auditing Strategies” Quotes Whistleblowerlawyerblog Author on State Whistleblower Statutes

May 1, 2007
Michael Sullivan

To understand why states are passing their own “False Claims Acts” with qui tam whistleblower provisions, the heath care compliance newsletter Heathcare Auditing Strategies called on one of the authors of this whistleblower lawyer blog, Michael A. Sullivan.

The May 2007 edition of this heath care compliance publication discusses the results of our efforts in this blog to explain these new state statutes, and to report on how these state statutes have fared when reviewed by the Office of Inspector General of HHS.
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Whistleblower Lawsuit Against California Hospital Accused of Overbilling is Settled

April 30, 2007
Michael Sullivan

In a whistleblower lawsuit settlement, the Loma Linda Behavioral Science Center agreed to pay more than $2 million to resolve allegations of overbilling.

This False Claims Act whistleblower case was filed by a former employee of Healthcare Financial Advisors (HFA), a consulting firm that advises hospitals in preparing cost reports. The lawsuit alleges that HFA assisted its clients in seeking reimbursement for unallowable costs from Medicare and Medi-Cal.

Justice Department Announces It Joins Qui Tam Health Care Fraud Cases Against HealthEssentials Solutions Inc.

April 26, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Health care cases remain busy this week. The Justice Department on April 26 announced that it is joining whistleblowers in pursuing three qui tam lawsuits against HealthEssentials Solutions Inc. (HES) that allege false claims were submitted to Medicare.

The cases involve allegations of upcoding — improperly using a diagnosis code that is not supported by the medical record, for the purpose of obtaining greater reimbursement–and billing for medically unnecessary services.

The three cases were filed separately in the U.S. District Court in Louisville, Ky., by
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Another State Qui Tam Whistleblower Law is Born–Georgia Bill Passes Senate and Goes to Governor for Signature

April 13, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Another state whistleblower law, with qui tam provisions that follow the federal False Claims Act, was born today. The Georgia Senate passed the “State False Medicaid Claims Act” today, and it goes to Governor Sonny Perdue for his signature.

We have been writing about this and other new state whistleblower statutes. Representative Edward Lindsey deserves credit for his sponsorship of the bill.

Our firm was fortunate enough to have been part of the legislative effort. Rep. Lindsey asked Michael A. Sullivan (one of this whistleblowerlawyerblog co-authors) to testify and explain the whistleblower law three times, before the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee. There were no dissenting votes in any of the committee votes.

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