Whistleblower Blog

Oklahoma Joins Nationwide Movement of States That Are Passing False Claims Acts with Qui Tam Whistlblower Provisions

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

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

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.

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

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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New Qui Tam Whistleblower Law Clears Senate Committee in Georgia

A new qui tam whistleblower law has cleared another hurdle toward passage. Georgia’s Senate Insurance and Labor Committee unanimously approved the new “State False Medicaid Claims Act” this afternoon. As we have written about previously on this whistleblower lawyer blog, the new whistleblower law has already passed the Georgia House.

After an introduction by Senator Seth Harp, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Edward Lindsey, asked Inspector General Doug Colburn of the Department of Community Health and attorney Michael A. Sullivan (co-author of this
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Amendments to New IRS Whistleblower Law Considered

We have had many calls this week from potential clients in our IRS Whistleblower practice, probably because msn.com featured an article about the IRS Whistleblower program on Monday that linked to our whistleblower lawyer blog.

As I have explained to many whistleblower clients, the new regulations for the IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program are in the works, but have not been issued. We have been pursuing IRS Whistleblower claims under the new program and have found the IRS agents to be excited about it.

Adding to the mix for those seeking a whistleblower attorney is that Congress is considering amendments to the law that established the new IRS Whistleblower Program in December 2006. Among the possible changes/additions are a provision opening up the Whistleblower Program to more claims by setting a different threshold for the amount of money in question, which could allow more whistleblowers to qualify for a reward.

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Guilty Plea in Pharmaceutical Fraud Case

A subsidiary of the drug manufacturer Pfizer has agreed to plead guilty in a kickback scheme and to pay a criminal fine of $19.68 million, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Michael J. Sullivan (not to be confused with Michael A. Sullivan, one of the authors of this whistleblower lawyer blog).

The government’s announcement was that Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc., was charged with offering a kickback in connection with the administration and distribution
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New York Becomes Latest State to Agree to Enact a State False Claims Act

The New York legislature has become the latest state to agree to the enactment of a State False Claims Act, when it approved passage of such a whistleblower law as part of approving the state budget. The Buffalo Times reported on this encouraging development.

We have written before about why states are passing their own whistleblower laws to protect taxpayer money. Congress has created significant financial incentives for states that pass their own state false claims acts, with whistleblower provisions that are at
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New Medicaid Whistleblower Law Passes House in Georgia

We have been writing about why states are passing their own whistleblower laws, with qui tam provisions that are at least as effective as the federal False Claims Act. Georgia’s legislature took a giant step forward when its House of Representatives today passed the State False Medicaid Claims Act–by an overwhelming margin of 164-2!

As we have mentioned before on this whistleblower lawyer blog, when the House Judiciary Committee met to discuss and approve the new whistleblower statute, two witnesses were invited
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COVID-19 Government Spending Must Be Protected by Whistleblowers–Through the False Claims Act and State False Claims Acts

COVID-19 has required unprecedented government spending through the CARES Act and other measures.  That spending creates countless opportunities for theft of funds desperately needed to fight the coronavirus.

The virus has made the nation’s major “whistleblower” law–the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) and similar state False Claims Acts –even more essential. Both the federal and state FCA laws are civil statutes designed to combat fraud directed at taxpayer dollars.

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SEC Targets COVID-19 Fraud, and Its Success Will Depend on SEC Whistleblowers

As the anxious public yearns for vaccines, treatments, and protections from the virus, the SEC has warned of a “substantial potential for fraud relating to COVID-19. The SEC’s enforcement actions against 23 companies are just the start, as more fraud will undoubtedly be uncovered.

Whistleblowers are critical to the SEC’s efforts to stop COVID-19 fraud.  The SEC Office of the Whistleblower is authorized to pay monetary awards to whistleblowers whose information leads to an order of sanctions of $1 million or more.

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$465 Million Settlement in Our Client’s Qui Tam Whistleblower Case Over Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Underpaying Medicaid Rebates for New EpiPen Products

Through a $465 million settlement, Finch McCranie’s Michael A. Sullivan and James J. Breen of the Breen Law Firm successfully represented a whistleblower whose qui tam case under the False Claims Act helped return hundreds of millions to the United States and various states for Medicaid rebates underpaid on new EpiPen products introduced in 2009.

The Department of Justice announced the settlement on August 17, 2017, of two qui tam cases pending in the District of Massachusetts, United States, et al. ex rel. sanofi-aventis US LLC v. Mylan Inc., et al., and our case, United States, et al. ex rel. Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys, Inc. Mylan Inc., et al..

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$145 Million Settlement: Largest in History by Department of Justice and Finch McCranie, LLP in Any Skilled Nursing Facility Healthcare Fraud Case

Today the Department of Justice announced the largest settlement in its history with a skilled nursing facility chain–a qui tam whistleblower case under the False Claims Act that our firm and our co-counsel Mark Simpson worked side-by-side with DOJ to prepare for trial.

We applaud the exceptional work of DOJ’s attorneys, as well the outstanding attorneys of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.  Below is our press release on today’s settlement:

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“The False Claims Act at 30”–What the Future Holds for Qui Tam Whistleblower Cases

This past week our firm’s Larry D. Thompson,  the former Deputy Attorney General of the United States, joined me for a panel discussion that I moderated on “The False Claims Act at 30,” at the annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Joining us on the panel were the Department of Justice’s Renee Brooker, an Assistant Director in the Civil Division with 25 years of DOJ experience; James J. (Jim) Breen, an accomplished qui tam lawyer whose cases have recovered almost $4 billion for federal and state taxpayers; and Neil Getnick, Chairman of TAF and an accomplished FCA lawyer in his own right.

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SuperLawyers Recognizes for 11th Year Finch McCranie’s Michael A. Sullivan

We are proud to announce that Finch McCranie partner and head of its Whistleblower practice Michael A. Sullivan has been named to the “SuperLawyers” list for the eleventh consecutive year.
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Justice Department’s New Focus on Individuals’ Liability in “Yates Memo” Should Impact Qui Tam Whistleblower Cases under False Claims Act

Yesterday the Justice Department apparently responded to the frequent lament, “Why has almost no one gone to prison for the financial crisis?” DOJ signaled that it will now look to hold responsible both culpable individuals and their companies for corporate misdeeds–both criminally and civilly.

If DOJ means what it says, this policy change is profound. It should hit corporate officers whose business models are based on fraud and false claims. It should also snare high level executives who turn a blind eye to wrongdoing, and who typically get away with it.

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SEC Whistleblower Office’s Stand Against “Silencing” Employees Through “Confidentiality” Agreements

Sean McKessy of the SEC Whistleblower Program is right to continue his mission against muzzling whistleblowers through “confidentiality” agreements, for one simple reason:

Intimidating witnesses from reporting fraud is a form of obstruction of justice.

Although “confidentiality” agreements may appear innocent on their face, a company’s suggesting in any way that its employees refrain from reporting fraud or other violations of securities laws crosses the line. Too often, that is often the effect of these agreements–if not the intent as well.

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Qui Tam, IRS, CFTC, and SEC Whistleblower Claims Update: Today’s Whistleblower Law Symposium A Success

Since 2007, top officials from federal and state agencies and many of the country’s experts in whistleblower cases have gathered in Atlanta to discuss and debate anti-fraud efforts at the Whistleblower Law Symposium.

Today I was excited to chair our Whistleblower Law Symposium once again, as these experts explored the latest developments in qui tam cases under the False Claims Act, and SEC whistleblower, CFTC whistleblower and IRS whistleblower claims. The breadth of expertise of today’s speakers was unusual.

First, top enforcement officials from California, Georgia and Texas shared their approaches and priorities under their state False Claims Acts. We were honored to hear from Britt Grant, Solicitor General of Georgia, about Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens’ impressive new efforts to stop the theft of taxpayer funds.

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Today’s SEC Whistleblower Award to Former Officer of Company Shows Flexibility of SEC Whistleblower Rules

The SEC announced today its first SEC Whistleblower award to a former company officer. The award of a half-million dollars was for “original, high-quality information about a securities fraud,” which resulted in an SEC enforcement action with sanctions of more than $1 million.

Typically, corporate officers, directors and other corporate fiduciaries are not eligible for SEC Whistleblower awards when they learn of fraud through employee reports. The SEC built in flexibility in its rules, however, when the officer waits “more than 120 days after other
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