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Presented by Hodgson Russ, the Whistleblower Blog is written by a team of lawyers experienced in successfully guiding both whistleblowers and companies accused by whistleblowers of wrongdoing through the False Claims Act process.

Showing 27 posts in Whistleblower Settlements.

Key Attributes of a Good Relator | The Whistleblower Blog

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People considering becoming whistleblowers to expose a government fraud often ask what the process will be like. They want to know what it is like to be a relator in a False Claims Act, or qui tam, case. While no one answer to that question fits all situations, there are some general answers that tend to hold true across the cases. I can think of three words to describe the experience – work, patience, and satisfaction.

The “work” phase of the case involves working with counsel and then government lawyers and investigators to explain, understand, and develop the facts of the case. The work in a False Claims Act case usually begins when the relator collaborates with his or her legal team to put together the complaint and the disclosure statement, which become the roadmap for government lawyers and investigators. The work continues when the whistleblower teaches the government about the fraud, the key facts, and the key players. And the work frequently recurs sporadically during the government’s investigation, as the relator and counsel respond to government questions about documents and interview statements.

Topics: Whistleblower Settlements

Health Care False Claims Act Settlements Increasing

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March 1, 2012, was a big day for New York State taxpayers, as both the state and federal governments announced significant settlements impacting the state. First, New York Attorney General Schneiderman announced two large settlements under the New York False Claims Act. Both settlements involve pharmaceutical companies, Dava Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and KV Pharmaceutical Company, with Dava misclassifying drugs to evade payments to Medicaid, and KV failing to advise the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that two unapproved drugs were not covered by federal and state health care programs, thereby improperly receiving reimbursement for those drugs. You can read the details of the Dava and KV pharmaceutical settlements here.

Topics: Medicare & Medicaid Fraud, Pharmaceutical Fraud, Whistleblower Settlements

Government Statistics Show Upward Trend in False Claims Act Settlements

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Data released by the U.S. Department of Justice reveal a substantial increase in False Claims Act recoveries over the past two years. These statistics, along with comments from Department of Justice officials, indicate that the False Claims Act whistleblower provisions have become the government’s tool of choice in attacking fraud, particularly in the health care and pharmaceutical industries.

During fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, the Department of Justice secured more than $3 billion through settlements and judgments in civil cases involving fraud against the government. This marked the second year in a row where the Department of Justice reached or exceeded $3 billion. Since January 2009, the Department of Justice has recovered approximately $8.7 billion. This is the largest three-year total in the Justice Department’s history.

Topics: Medicare & Medicaid Fraud, Pharmaceutical Fraud, Whistleblower Settlements

Oracle Whistleblower Receives $40 Million in False Claim Act

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On October 6, 2011, the Justice Department announced a significant settlement with Oracle to resolve False Claims Act allegations. In particular, Oracle Corp. and Oracle America Inc. have agreed to pay $199.5 million plus interest for allegedly failing to meet their contractual obligations to the General Services Administration (GSA).

According to the government, this settlement relates to a 1998 contract to sell software licenses and technical support through GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. The government said, “The MAS program provides the government and other GSA-authorized purchasers with a streamlined process for procurement of commonly used commercial goods and services. To be awarded a MAS contract, and thereby gain access to the broad government marketplace and the ease of administration that comes from selling to hundreds of government purchasers under one central contract, contractors must agree to disclose commercial pricing policies and practices, and to abide by the contract terms.”

Topics: Procurement Fraud, Whistleblower Settlements

Sharing Agreements Beat First-Relator Fights

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As cases become more complex and multiple allegations arise, it is more and more frequently the case that multiple relators will file complaints in different districts covering, at least for the most part, common subject matter. Rarely, however, in these types of cases, can one make a definitive judgment about whether the allegations overlap, either in whole or in part, are identical, or are distinctly separate. U.S. attorneys want to be able to consolidate cases and use all of the allegations in a single False Claims Act prosecution. So what to do about the relators?

Topics: Whistleblower Settlements

Whistleblowers’ Proceeds Taxable as Income | Settlements

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Two recent court decisions and a 2004 statute affirm that False Claims Act whistleblowers have to pay income taxes on their relator’s share of any recovery―at ordinary income rates. Because the taxation questions that arise from whistleblower’s rewards can be significant, as shown below, it remains wise for any successful relator to seek proper and current tax advice.

Topics: Whistleblower Settlements

Medical Industry Whistleblower Settlements Increase

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False Claims Act settlements are increasing dramatically in the medical industry, and many of the growing number of settlements are being paid by an unlikely target: hospitals. Over the past few months, Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, in Long Island; Mercy Hospital, in Springfield, Massachusetts; and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, in Nashua, New Hampshire, all resolved False Claims Act cases with considerable settlements. Most of the whistleblower claims were based on allegations of improper charges to obtain Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Read more here.

Topics: Medicare & Medicaid Fraud, Whistleblower Settlements

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