ATLANTA,GA
DULUTH, GA
This is Part 2 by whistleblower lawyer blog of a detailed overview of the federal False Claims Act and the new state False Claims Acts with qui tam whistleblower provisions. It is based on an article by whistleblower lawyer blog author Michael A. Sullivan, and is reprinted with permission of the Georgia Bar Journal.
This Part 2 discusses the sound policy reasons underlying the False Claims Act.
I. Why A “False Claims Act”?
(more…)We at whistleblower lawyer blog hope this detailed article assists those interested in the federal False Claims Act and the new state False Claims Acts with qui tam whistleblower provisions. A version of this article by whistleblower lawyer blog author Michael A. Sullivan [1] has just been published in the October 2007 Georgia Bar Journal. For ease of reading, we have divided the article in six parts–this is Part 1.
The federal False Claims Act [2] has inspired a
(more…)
We read today in the news that a Dr. Michael D. Kim in Houston, Texas had been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in yet another “motorized wheelchair fraud scheme.” According to the government’s indictment, Dr. Kim fraudulently approved thousands of Medicare beneficiaries for motorized wheelchairs in return for cash payments of $200.00 per beneficiary. According to the indictment, thousands of Medicare beneficiaries were brought by paid recruiters to Dr. Kim’s medical clinic in Houston between April of 2002 and October of 2003 for the
(more…)
It is estimated that the annual tax gap between those who owe money to the government as taxes and those who actually pay them (i.e. the annual underpayment of taxes) is $345 billion. Under the new IRS Whistleblower provisions, an insider with information about tax fraud can claim a minimum of 15% up to a maximum of 30% of back taxes collected by the government based on information received from the whistleblower. What this means is that each year if, in fact, the annual tax
(more…)
Last week, the United States Department of Justice announced that Bristol-Meyers Squibb (BMS) had entered into a settlement agreement to pay more than $515 million to resolve allegations of illegal drug marketing and pricing. This is yet another example where Big Pharma has attempted to gouge the government to increase profits, at the public’s expense. The allegations made by the government, regrettably, are all too familiar and have occurred in many other cases of a similar nature.
The first thing the government alleged was that
(more…)
This is Part II of this whistleblower lawyer blog’s description of how IRS Tax Whistleblower officials have explained many of the long-awaited details of the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program to whistleblower attorneys at the annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Conference in Washington, a national organization of whistleblower lawyers who represent whistleblowers under the False Claims Act, the state False Claims Acts, and the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program for tax whistleblowers. Both parts summarize information provided by IRS Whistleblower officials at this Conference, at which I had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion with the Director of the IRS Whistleblower Office, Stephen Whitlock, and later spending time with other IRS officials from the IRS group responsible for the Financial Services industry (including hedge funds), Large and Mid-Sized Business Division, Stuart Mann and Nicole Cammarota.
(more…)IRS officials explained long-awaited details of how the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program will work to whistleblower attorneys gathered last week at the annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Conference in Washington.
This whistleblower lawyer blog author had the pleasure of appearing with the Director of the new IRS Whistleblower Office, Stephen Whitlock, in a panel discussion on the new IRS Whistleblower Program. I enjoyed spending time with Director Whitlock and with the other participants, Professor Dennis Ventry of American University’s Washington College of
(more…)
Some of the country’s leading attorneys in qui tam whistleblower cases and IRS Whistleblower cases will gather for the “First Annual Whistleblower Law Symposium,” which will take place at the Georgia State Bar Headquarters on Thursday, September 20, beginning at 9:00 a.m. (See Agenda below). This Whistleblower Law Symposium is organized and co-chaired by the authors of this whistleblower lawyer blog, Michael A. Sullivan and Richard W. Hendrix.
(more…)Senators Specter and Leahy to Co-Sponsor Pro-Taxpayer Law to “Correct” Recent Court Decisions That Limited Effectiveness to Government of Qui Tam Whistleblower Law, the False Claims Act
In one of the most potentially significant developments ever discussed on this whistleblower lawyer blog, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) announced today that he and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) are co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill designed to restore the government’s primary tool for fighting fraud against taxpayers, the False Claims Act, to its intended effectiveness.
(more…)
Tomorrow in Washington, this whistleblowerlawyerblog author is looking forward to participating in a panel discussion with the Director of the new IRS Whistleblower Office, Stephen Whitlock, to explain how the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program works.
We will speak at the Taxpayers Against Fraud Annual Conference in Washington at 6 p.m. on September 9. Leading the panel discussion will be Paul Scott. I am also looking forward to the presentations by Erika Kelton and Professor Dennis Ventry of American University’s Washington
(more…)
Three years ago, our whistleblower lawyer blog presented an in-depth article discussing the nation’s major whistleblower law, the False Claims Act, and the wave of new state False Claims Acts.
Since then in 2009-2010, Congress has amended the False Claims Act three times to remove obstacles created by courts, which had limited the law’s effectiveness. To reflect those important and needed changes in the law, I have updated this article to present at the 2010 Fraud and Compliance Forum sponsored by the American Health Lawyers Association and Health Care Compliance Association.
That detailed article is excerpted here to explain the False Claims Act, with its 2009-2010 amendments. For ease of reading, it is divided into six parts:
(more…)This is Part 1 of an updated explanation of the major qui tam whistleblower statutes, the federal False Claims Act and the new state False Claims Acts. This Part 1 provides an introduction to the False Claims Act.
In 2010, more than ever, it is essential for lawyers to understand their clients’ potential liabilities under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”). The health care industry increasingly has become the major focus of the federal government’s enforcement efforts, and usually pays at least two-thirds of the money recovered each year under this anti-fraud statute.
(more…)This is Part 2 of an explanation the federal False Claims Act and the new state False Claims Acts with qui tam whistleblower provisions. This Part 2 discusses the sound policy reasons underlying the False Claims Act.
I. Why Have A “False Claims Act”?
Fraud is perhaps so pervasive and, therefore, costly to the Government due to a lack of deterrence. GAO concluded in its 1981 study that most fraud goes undetected due to the failure of Governmental agencies to effectively ensure accountability on the part of program recipients and Government contractors. The study states:
(more…)This is Part 3 of an updated explanation of the major qui tam whistleblower statutes, the federal False Claims Act and the new state False Claims Acts. This Part 3 explains the history of the False Claims Act and why effective whistleblower laws are important.
II. Background of the Federal False Claims Act
Although the False Claims Act may be the best known qui tam statute, it is far from being the first. Qui tam actions date back to English law in the 13th and 14th Centuries. This tradition took root in the American colonies and, by 1789, states and the new federal government had authorized qui tam actions in various contexts.
(more…)This Part 4 of a six part summary explains how the federal False Claims Act works, after Congress amended it three times in 2009-2010. It also discusses similar provisions of some state False Claims Acts.
This is an update from a previously published article by whistleblower lawyer blog author Michael A. Sullivan.
III. Overview of How the Modern False Claims Act Works (with Comparisons to Some State False Claims Acts)
(more…)This is Part 5 of 6 of a recently updated article about the qui tam whistleblower statutes, the federal False Claims Act and the new state False Claims Acts. This is an updated version of a previously published article by whistleblower lawyer blog author Michael A. Sulliva.
This Part 5 discusses the striking success of the False Claims Act since its 1986 Amendments, as it has recovered more than $27 billion in taxpayers’ money wrongfully obtained by fraud and false claims.
IV. The Trend of Recent Recoveries Under the False Claims Act
(more…)This Part 6 is the final installment of an article explaining why the major qui tam whistleblower statute, the federal False Claims Act, has led to a wave of new state False Claims Acts. It is an updated version of part of a previously published article by whistleblower lawyer blog author Michael A. Sullivan.
V. States’ Experiences With Their Own False Claims Acts
As noted, at least twenty-eight states now have a False Claims statute, and many other states are considering similar laws. The financial incentives of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 have not only prompted states that lacked False Claims statutes to enact them, but also have caused many states wishing to qualify for the additional funds to amend their existing False Claims statutes.
(more…)Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reports a “sweeping” insider trading investigation, with civil and criminal charges soon to follow, involving “consultants, investment bankers, hedge-fund and mutual-fund traders, and analysts across the nation.”
While the details remain to be seen, the unending series of fraud cases that continue–despite Sarbanes-Oxley–proves why Wall Street must not be allowed to neuter the first potentially meaningful SEC whistleblower program, mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
How is it that the hallowed “compliance programs” born from Sarbanes-Oxley have utterly failed to stop the breathtaking frauds of Madoff, Stanford, and other recent post-SOX scandals?
(more…)We have been awaiting the SEC’s proposed rules for its new SEC Whistleblower Program, released yesterday. Even before the announcement, however, those who oppose this first potentially meaningful SEC Whistleblower Program have begun efforts to undermine it.
The SEC’s website already includes some firms’ suggestions to impose extreme restrictions on SEC whistleblowers–contrary to how other successful whistleblower programs operate.
Designing any new whistleblower program should begin with studying more than two decades of successes of the nation’s major whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act has been so effective in uncovering and penalizing fraud against the government since 1986 that it has inspired Congress and the states to enact a wave of new whistleblower statutes–including the Dodd-Frank whistleblower mandate in section 922.
(more…)Our whistleblower lawyer blog has followed closely the development of the first potentially meaningful SEC Whistleblower and Commodities Whistleblower Programs. That link provides regular updates.
Based on our firm’s long experience in representing whistleblowers, we were asked by the Senate Banking Committee staff for input in how the new SEC and CFTC whistleblower provisions of the July 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act should work. We urged that the Senate change the tepid House version, which provided no meaningful rewards to whistleblowers,
(more…)