ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Department of Justice has announced that it has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against one of the nation’s largest nursing home chains, HCR ManorCare. The Department of Justice alleges that HCR ManorCare, a nursing home chain based in Ohio, overbilled Medicare patients. The whistleblower lawsuit was originally […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Three former managers of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation have filed Federal, as well as Florida State, whistleblower claims under the federal False Claims Act and Florida False Claims Act. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the nation’s largest supplier of HIV/AIDS medical care, is charged with defrauding Federal healthcare programs […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The role of the whistleblower, usually a current or former employee who has witnessed unlawful behavior, is key in the fight against healthcare fraud, say California qui tam/false claims lawyers. The Whistleblower Act protects a whistleblower against retaliation. Under the False Claims Act, a whistleblower can file what […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER In the first-ever action against a company for stifling the whistleblower process, the Securities and Exchange Commission reached a settlement with Houston-based engineering and construction company KBR Inc. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that KBR Inc. used restrictive employee agreements to prevent whistleblowers from taking action. According […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER A January decision by the Supreme Court, in which the court ruled in favor of whistleblower and former federal air marshal Robert MacLean, has implications for other whistleblower cases, say California whistleblower attorneys. This case could set a major precedent affecting sources. The decision also reinforces whistleblowers’ protection […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER According to Alameda County qui tam/false claim lawyers, 2014 was a record-breaking year for whistleblower claims filed under the False Claims and Dodd-Frank Acts. More than $6 billion was recovered by the Department of Justice through qui tam/false claims suits in 2014, up from $3.8 billion in 2013. […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) first initiated its whistleblower program back in 2010. It gave two key features to persuade whistleblowers to come forth: (1) monetary rewards for vital information and (2) anonymity for protection. Four years later, the Securities and Exchange Commission made good on their […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER In 2010, a whistleblower came forth with information showing Extendicare Health Services Inc., a nursing home chain, was defrauding Medicare and Medicaid by charging patients for below-average care. Now, the nursing home chain will be paying $38 million to settle the failure-of-care claims – the largest amount ever […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Two words: employer retaliation. Whistleblowers don’t normally report wrongdoing to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the attention.  In fact, whistleblowers report misconduct because they were retaliated against in some manner such as wrongful termination, leading them to seek outside help.  In […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Thanks to whistleblowers, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) can boast an increase in cases – over 686 cases in 2014 alone. This is a first since 2011.  In addition to the increase in numbers of whistleblower cases, the Securities Exchange Commission has had other notable marks: seven of […]