This year’s Symposium will be available either in-person or online on Wednesday, March 13, starting at 815 am EDT.  It offers 7.5 CLE hours, including 1 Ethics hour and 4 Trial Practice hours. Cost is $279.  

You can register (and see the full Agenda) here: atlantabar.org/….   Topics include: 

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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.

Since its 1986 amendments created the modern Act, the federal FCA has been dramatically successful in recovering many billions of dollars in taxpayer funds from defendants who engaged in fraud or false claims.

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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..

These cases illustrate the importance of the False Claims Act to uncover and stop fraud and false claims in health care and other industries, which harm taxpayers by stealing taxpayer dollars needed to provide medical care and other services.

The post $465 Million Settlement in Our Client’s Qui Tam Whistleblower Case Over Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Underpaying Medicaid Rebates for New EpiPen Products appeared first on Whistleblower Lawyer Blog.

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:

$145 Million Settlement in Groundbreaking Health Care Fraud “Whistleblower” Case by Atlanta’s Finch McCranie LLP and U.S. Department of Justice

The post $145 Million Settlement: Largest in History by Department of Justice and Finch McCranie, LLP in Any Skilled Nursing Facility Healthcare Fraud Case appeared first on Whistleblower Lawyer Blog.

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.

Larry provided his observations about the importance of meaningful compliance programs to prevent and detect fraud within organizations.  He continues to share his perspective gained from years of government service, private practice, and as general counsel to a major corporation, with in-house counsel who contact him for advice.

The post “The False Claims Act at 30”–What the Future Holds for Qui Tam Whistleblower Cases appeared first on Whistleblower Lawyer Blog.

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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.

Corporations can act only through the humans who run them. Sometimes those humans steer the business to corrupt methods.

Until yesterday’s change in DOJ policy, however, the few corporations brought to heel by DOJ for crimes, fraud, or false claims absorbed the consequences, while the individuals who directed the wrongdoing usually escaped responsibility. Those individuals were free to continue their corrupt practices at the same firm or a different one.

New U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates plans to change that result. As a federal prosecutor in Atlanta, Yates was not afraid of pursuing big cases against individuals and their companies, as I learned from representing clients in some of those cases.

Yesterday Yates issued a Memorandum titled, “Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing.” It is far-reaching, if implemented. Yates announced “six key steps to strengthen [DOJ’s] pursuit of individual corporate wrongdoing, some of which reflect policy shifts and each of which is described in greater detail below:

(1) in order to qualify for any cooperation credit, corporations must provide to the Department all relevant facts relating to the individuals responsible for the misconduct;

(2) criminal and civil corporate investigations should focus on individuals from the inception of the investigation;

(3) criminal and civil attorneys handling corporate investigations should be in routine communication with one another;

( 4) absent extraordinary circumstances or approved departmental policy, the Department will not release culpable individuals from civil or criminal liability when resolving a matter with a corporation;

(5) Department attorneys should not resolve matters with a corporation without a clear plan to resolve related individual cases, and should memorialize any declinations as to individuals in such cases; and

(6) civil attorneys should consistently focus on individuals as well as the company and evaluate whether to bring suit against an individual based on considerations beyond that individual’s ability to pay.”

The new policy expressly applies to cases under the False Claims Act–the nation’s major whistleblower law and chief civil enforcement weapon to fight fraud that targets taxpayer funds. Whistleblowers are the source of most False Claims Act cases by filing suit under the “qui tam” provisions of the law.

In our qui tam whistleblower cases, we name as defendants both individuals and their businesses when we have evidence of the individuals’ involvement and knowledge of the fraud. With smaller corporate defendants, those individuals are sometimes obvious. Joining the individuals as defendants can prevent the wrongdoers from escaping liability simply by shuttering the business.

But with large companies, it is often difficult to identify at the outset all or even some of those culpable individuals. The case begins against the corporation only–and typically ends with a settlement by only the company. Until this policy change, the guilty individuals usually could count on being released from liability with the company’s settlement. And while the government technically could seek to exclude or debar the blameworthy individuals from federal programs, that has been a rare occurrence.

Now, government lawyers are tasked with focusing on individuals’ liability from the start. Yates’s memo directs that “[c]ivil attorneys should consistently focus on individuals as well as the company and evaluate whether to bring suit against an individual based on considerations beyond that individual’s ability to pay.” As the case progresses through discovery, the government learns who those guilty individuals are, and properly can add them as defendants.

Yates correctly observes that deterring fraud is important, and that holding individual wrongdoers accountable aids deterrence:

“Although in the short term certain cases against individuals may not provide as robust a monetary return on the Department’s investment, pursuing individual actions in civil corporate matters will result in significant long-term deterrence. Only by seeking to hold individuals accountable in view of all of the factors above can the Department ensure that it is doing everything in its power to minimize corporate fraud, and, over the course of time, minimize losses to the public fisc through fraud.”

Of course, Yates is directing a huge organization of lawyers who are used to doing cases the old way. It remains to be seen how quickly they will implement the new policy.

DOJ’s new policy is a step in right direction for deterring wrongdoing. Corporations violate the law only when individuals direct them to do so. It is past time to hold those individuals accountable.

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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.

Joining Britt Grant were California’s Nicholas Paul, Texas’ Ray Winter, and Georgia’s Van Pearlberg, who described how their offices battle Medicaid fraud that is brought to light in state False Claims Act cases. A special thanks goes to Jim Breen for moderating this discussion and sharing his own experiences in working with the states in pursuing large health care fraud cases.At today’s Whistleblower Law Symposium, Jim Breen joined me in presenting former Rep. Edward Lindsey with the “Integrity in State Government Award” from the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund.


Next, representatives of each U.S. Attorney’s Office in Georgia and of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of Georgia described how they coordinate efforts in investigating and pursuing False Claims Act cases. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Berne (N.D.Ga), Chuck Byrd (M.D.Ga.), and Chip Mullaney (S.D. Ga.) joined with Assistant Attorney General Liz White to discuss what lawyers can expect in bringing False Claims Act cases to their offices. Jim Breen again did an excellent job of moderating.

“Hot Topics in Health Care Qui Tam Cases under the False Claims Act” was the next lively discussion, led by Tracy Field of Womble, Carlyle in Atlanta. Participants included my co-counsel in one of the nation’s largest pending heath care fraud cases (against Life Care Centers of America, Inc.), Mark Simpson; Chris Burris of King & Spalding; and Julie Bracker of Bracker & Marcus.

We then turned to qui tam cases in areas outside of health care. Moderated by my co-counsel in a Hurricane Katrina fraud qui tam case that we will try in New Orleans, Marc Vezina, this session focused the effective use of the False Claims Act in areas such as financial fraud and other non-healthcare areas. Our excellent panelists included former U.S. Attorneys Rick Deane of Jones Day and Joe Whitley of Baker Donelson, as well as Marlan Wilbanks of Wilbanks & Bridges.

“Readiness for trial” was the theme of remarks of U.S. Attorney Michael Moore of the Middle District of Georgia. Michael and Chuck Byrd of his office have made his district a desirable one to pursue False Claims Act cases, as they actively push cases to trial.

A special treat today was John Moscow, who prosecuted most of the major financial fraud cases for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for more than 30 years, and is now counsel to the Bernie Madoff Trustee at Baker Hostetler. I interviewed John about what he had learned about “Tracing and Recovering Money in Large Fraud Cases.”

Extremely important aspects of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act expanded the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). We were honored to have with us Christopher Ehrman, Director of the Office of the Whistleblower of the CFTC, and Rich Foelber, Chief of Cooperative Enforcement at the CFTC. They provided a “Primer on New Whistleblower Claims Involving “Swaps” and Other Derivatives: Financial Fraud Within the Jurisdiction of the CFTC.”

Dodd-Frank also created the first meaningful SEC Whistleblower Program, directed by Sean McKessy of the SEC Office of the Whistleblower. We had an illuminating panel discussion with Sean McKessy (live from the SEC), moderated by David Marshall of Katz, Marshall & Banks. Joining them were Jordan Thomas of Labaton Sucharow, as well as and Tony Powers and Josh Gunnemann, both of Rogers & Hardin.

We concluded with my live interview of IRS Whistleblower Office Director Steve Whitlock (by teleconference), who provided an update on tax whistleblower cases with the IRS. Steve and I have done many programs together since 2007, and it was a pleasure to explore once again how energetic his office has been in promoting the IRS Whistleblower program.

Today’s conference also provided a chance to recognize former Rep. Edward Lindsey, the legislative sponsor of both Georgia False Claims Acts: the 2007 Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act, and the 2012 Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act. I was honored to have worked with him in drafting each False Claims Act. Edward received the first “Integrity in State Government Award” from the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund.

Many in our sizeable audience expressed appreciation for the high caliber of our speakers and presentations at this Whistleblower Law conference. I thank all of our excellent faculty, and especially our moderators, for making this conference memorable once again!

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What many people may not know is that Georgia’s two False Claims Acts now apply to all spending by the state, and all spending by local governments.

The 2012 Act can be used by a wide array of “local government” bodies, and by citizens who know about fraud against those entities. The Act defines “local government” broadly to include “any Georgia county, municipal corporation, consolidated government, authority, board of education or other local public board, body, or commission, town, school district, board of cooperative educational services, local public benefit corporation, hospital authority, taxing authority, or other political subdivision of the state or of such local government, including MARTA.”

To answer many questions, we have uploaded here our summary of these laws, titled “The False Claims Act and the New Georgia ‘TaxProtectionection False Claims Act,'” which you may download here.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions about the False Claims Act or the new Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act.

Our whistleblower lawyers represent people who expose fraud against the government or against investors, by pursuing claims under the False Claims Act, (the “qui tam” law), the IRS Whistleblower Program, and the SEC Whistleblower and CFTC Whistleblower Programs.

Unlike most firms representing whistleblowers, our lawyers have substantial experience in trying complex civil and criminal cases. Based on that broad civil and criminal background, we have also presented programs on protecting whistleblowers from criminal and civil liability.

For a free consultation about a potential whistleblower claim, please feel free to call us at 800-228-9159, or email us by clicking here.

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Our firm has organized this “Whistleblower Law Symposium” since 2007 to explore developments in the growing number of federal and state whistleblower laws that seek to stop fraud against taxpayer funds.

“Sequestration” threatened to keep some major speakers from participating because of travel restrictions. The solution was “beaming in” Sean McKessey, Director of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, and Steve Whitlock, Director of the IRS Whistleblower Office, to join our panelists by videoconference.

The conference began with an overview I provided of the country’s major whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. Its successes since 1986 inspired Congress to create both the new IRS Whistleblower Program in 2006, and the new SEC Whistleblower Program in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

An excellent discussion of the False Claims Act in health care followed, led by Rick Shackelford of King & Spalding, LLP. Rick was joined by my former partner John E. Floyd of Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP; Daniel P. Griffin of Miller & Martin, PLLC; and Marlon Wilbanks of Wilbanks & Bridges, LLP.

Another panel then analyzed Georgia’s New 2012 “Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act, a 2012 state False Claims Act that I helped draft. This law encompasses all spending by state, county, municipal, and other local governments in Georgia. Nels Peterson, who as Georgia’s Solicitor General is charged with overseeing the implementation of the new statute, explained the framework of the law.

Because the new state FCA applies to fraud against local governments as well, we also heard how the Act might be used by cities and counties. Mary Carole Cooney, former Atlanta Deputy City Attorney, and Bill Linkous, former Dekalb County Attorney, provided their perspectives on how the new whistleblower law might expose fraud in various areas of local government spending.

SEC Whistleblower Chief Sean McKessey then joined us electronically to discuss the most pressing issues in bringing (and defending) SEC Whistleblower claims.

Moderator David Marshall of Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP led a lively discussion of these issues with Mr. McKessey of the SEC, Tony G. Powers of Rogers & Hardin, LLP, and Jordan A. Thomas of Labaton Sucharow LLP. (I have written previously about our meetings with the SEC Commissioners and Director of Enforcement to provide input on the SEC’s rules for its new whistleblower program. Mr. Thomas helped craft those rules as a former Assistant Director, SEC Division of Enforcement.)

In “Federal Priorities and Procedures in Qui Tam Cases,” representatives of various U.S Attorney’s Offices provided their observations about what the government looks for in False Claims Act cases.

Although sequestration will not allow them to be reimbursed for their travel, AUSAs Edgar Bueno and Chuck Byrd trekked from Savannah and Columbus, Georgia, respectively because of their belief in the importance of this law in combating fraud. Each is the head of Affirmative Civil Enforcement in their respective districts. We were also fortunate to have AUSA Lena Amanti, who discussed qui tam cases based on her experiences as an AUSA in the Northern District of Georgia.

This full day included lunch remarks by the legislator primarily responsible for both of Georgia’s False Claims Acts, Rep. Edward Lindsey. He sponsored both the 2012 Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act and the 2007 State False Medicaid Claims Act.

Another excellent FCA practice discussion followed, led by Daniel R. Miller of Berger & Montague, P.C. Dan is the former Deputy Attorney General of the Delaware Department of Justice, and Past President of the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NMFCU).

Joining Dan Miller on the relator’s side was Sara Vann of Morgan & Verkamp, LLP. Providing the defense view were Jason E. Bring of Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP and Jamila Hall of Jones Day, LLP.

IRS Whistleblower Office Director Stephen A. Whitlock then joined me from Washington to discuss the IRS Whistleblower Program. Since the last time I had been on a panel with Steve, the IRS has made a $104 million whistleblower award to UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld–who also got himself incarcerated after pleading guilty to a felony. While I could not entice him to discuss that case, we did explore the legal principles that led to this unusual result. (See our past discussion of how a whistleblower like Birkenfeld might have protected himself from criminal prosecution.)

Capping the day, the audience heard an excellent presentation from Paul Lawrence of Waters & Krause, LLP, about how bank fraud whistleblower claims can arise under two federal laws known as FIRREA and FIAFEA. FIRREA is the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, enacted in the wake of the savings and loan scandals. FIAFEA is the Financial Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act.

Based on immediate comments, our audience members received their money’s worth. I am not aware of another privately-organized conference with such a breadth of speakers on a variety of whistleblower laws.

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