In a recent environmental fraud settlement, British Petroleum (BP) has settled with the State of California for $7.9 million following allegations it double-billed for cleanup efforts after several of its Underground Storage Tanks (UST’s) began leaking. Under California law, a cleanup fund was established to help companies defray the cost […]
In a rare turn of events, the Department of Justice has actually commended Michigan-based Portage Hospital, LLC after it opted to self-report various perceived violations of the False Claims Act by a member of its physical therapy staff. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement: “Portage Hospital is to […]
The False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar prohibits any whistleblower from filing a claim if the facts of the claim are based on information that would be readily available to the public, regardless of whether the whistleblower actually knew about or reviewed the public information prior to initiating the lawsuit. […]
Implemented by the 2010 Dodd Frank Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintains a growing whistleblower program. Much like the False Claims Act, the SEC’s program is designed to offer confidential consideration of fraud claims, as well as incentives for successful prosecutions of costly and wasteful securities fraud. In […]
There are three laws in place to address the impropriety of doctor kickbacks: the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the Stark Law. These are three pieces of federal legislation enacted to punish and deter intentional fraud involving taxpayer funds. In the context of healthcare fraud, the acts are […]