GSA Bid Rigging Case Nets Another Guilty Plea
In the latest phase of a case proving that there is no amount of anticompetitive activity too small to escape prosecution, the Antitrust Division...
Retaliation Against a Former Employee Can Give Rise to a False Claims Act Retaliation...
On March 31, 2021, in United States ex rel. Felten v. William Beaumont Hospital, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer’s allegedly retaliatory conduct directed at an employee after the employee’s termination can give rise to a False Claims Act retaliation claim. In doing so, the Sixth Circuit embraced a minority position […]
Biden’s New HHS Secretary Promises “Robust Enforcement”
On March 18, 2021, the Senate narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra, the former attorney general of California, as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. With the confirmation of an aggressive litigator, rather than a doctor, as head of HHS, the healthcare industry should brace itself for heavier enforcement under the Biden administration. It is […]
False Claims Act Enforcement in 2021: A Look Ahead
As expected, the Biden presidency has brought new leaders to the top posts of the Department of Justice. What does this mean for False Claims Act enforcement? Foley Hoag examines recent FCA enforcement trends and predict increased pursuit of healthcare, cybersecurity, and pandemic fraud under the Biden Administration. Source: Foley Hoag: False Claims Act Enforcement […]
Healthcare Fraud in the Early Days of the Biden Administration
Health care fraud is widely considered a bipartisan focus for federal prosecutors; it was a priority for federal prosecutors during the prior administration and will remain so under President Biden. In the eighth and final post in its First 100 Day series, Foley Hoag highlights a few trends they have observed in recent months, as […]
The Powerful False Claims Act You Don’t Know About: California’s Insurance Fraud Prevention Act
California is one of only two states in the country with a whistleblower or qui tam statute that addresses fraud committed against private insurers. The California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (IFPA), § 1871.7 of the California Insurance Code, allows members of the public to file private qui tam suits against anyone who commits insurance fraud […]
Latin America Anti-Bribery Year-in-Review: 2020 Developments and Predictions for 2021
Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was an active year for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement. The DOJ and SEC maintained their extensive cooperation with foreign law enforcement, especially in South America, making 2020 a record-breaking year with well over $6 billion in corporate monetary penalties. These FCPA enforcement trends are critically important […]
School District Immune from FCA Claims, but Employees Might be Liable; United States District...
The district court granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss a qui tam complaint alleging the defendants fraudulently inflated the...
Omnicare and CVS’s “Novel” Argument Fails to Defeat FCA Claims
On March 19, 2021, a Southern District of New York judge denied a motion to dismiss a False Claims Act suit alleging that Omnicare—a subsidiary of CVS Health Corp.—“dispensed drugs based on invalid prescriptions to potentially tens of thousands of individuals living at more than 3,000 residential facilities.” See United States ex rel. Bassan v. […]
DOJ Continues to Combat COVID-19 Fraud with “Historic” Levels of Enforcement
On March 26, 2021, approximately one year after the enactment of the CARES Act, DOJ published a press release announcing its criminal and civil enforcement efforts against fraud arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other things, the DOJ announced that it has charged over 470 defendants with criminal offenses involving over $569 million in government […]