The False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §3729 et seq., imposes liability on individuals and entities who defraud governmental programs. The FCA, along with analogous state statutes, is generally viewed as the government’s most powerful anti-fraud tool, because it allows the government to recover treble damages and high penalties for false or fraudulent claims. The FCA also includes a “qui tam” provision, which permits whistleblowers who are unaffiliated with the government to file lawsuits on the government’s behalf, and potentially share in any recovery.
While in government service, F|G attorneys handled false claims act matters across a wide range of industries, including health care, government contracting, education, financial services, and energy. Among other high profile matters, our former federal prosecutors spearheaded an FCA case against the country’s second-largest for-profit college group, which ultimately resulted in a $95.5 million settlement with the Department of Justice, and led a major False Claims Act investigation of a regional hospital system and its CEO, which subsequently was sued for millions of dollars for alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.
Defended concrete construction company owner in government contracting fraud investigation and parallel qui tam investigation
Defended individuals and corporations in investigations conducted by DOJ and state attorneys general for government contracting fraud and false claims
Defending multiple individuals and businesses in both state and federal indictments involving allegations of food stamp fraud and abuse
Defended a medical professional in a healthcare fraud investigation and parallel false claims investigation. After securing a criminal declination, a false claims settlement was reached where wrongdoing and liability were denied and exclusion from federal healthcare programs was not pursued