Whistleblowers

U.S. Intervenes In False Claims Act Case Alleging Kickbacks For Ambulance Services

January 26, 2017 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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The United States filed a complaint on January 23, 2017, officially intervening in an alleged kickback scheme against East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, Inc., East Texas Medical Center Regional Health Services, Inc. (together “ETMC”), Paramedics Plus, LLC, Emergency Medical Services Authority (“EMSA”), and EMSA’s President, Herbert Stephen Williamson, alleging, among other things, violations […]

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DOJ: $4.7 Billion In Recoveries From 2016 Whistleblower Cases

December 30, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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The United States released data last week showing that the Department of Justice (DOJ) recovered more than $4.7 billion in 2016 from settlements and judgments in whistleblower cases involving fraud or false claims against the government. This is the third largest annual recovery in the history of the modern False Claims Act (FCA), which dates […]

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Whistleblowers Earn Unanimous Supreme Court Win On Seal Violation Issue

December 13, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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Last week, the Supreme Court issued an 8-0 decision in State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. v. United States ex rel. Rigsby, finding in favor of the whistleblowers a little more than a month after holding oral arguments. As we wrote in November, this decade-old case originates from a property insurance claim made in the […]

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SEC Whistleblower Program reports that 2016 was a record-breaking year

November 23, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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On the eve of Thanksgiving, one thing we can be thankful for is the great year that the SEC Whistleblower Program had protecting the United States markets from fraud. In its annual report to Congress, the SEC detailed several encouraging trends that it experienced in the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2016. Probably the […]

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Supreme Court Arguments on Seal Seem to Favor Relators

November 03, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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Oral arguments were held before the Supreme Court this week in the case of State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. U.S. ex rel. Rigsby.  The decade-old case originates from claims made by Cori and Kerrie Rigsby, sisters from Alabama, who filed a False Claims Act case alleging that State Farm defrauded the government in […]

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Skilled Nursing Company to Pay $145 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Case

October 25, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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On October 24, 2016, the Department of Justice announced a settlement with Life Care Centers of America Inc. (Life Care) and its owner, Forrest L. Preston. The defendants agreed to pay $145 million to resolve a lawsuit alleging that Life Care violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by knowingly causing skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to […]

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Can Government Employees be Whistleblowers under the False Claims Act?

September 29, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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Members of government agencies often ask us whether their employment by the government impacts whether they can serve as a whistleblower in a qui tam case under the False Claims Act (“FCA”)? Unfortunately, the short answer is “maybe.” Government employees can certainly serve as whistleblowers. In fact, no court has ever held that the FCA […]

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SEC Whistleblower Award Of $22 Million Goes To Monsanto Insider

September 02, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it issued an SEC whistleblower award of $22 million to an anonymous company insider who provided key information that resulted in Monsanto Company, a St. Louis-based agribusiness, agreeing to pay an $80 million penalty and retain an independent compliance consultant to settle charges that it violated accounting […]

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The False Claims Act’s “Filed Under Seal” Requirement

August 19, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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The federal False Claims Act provides that when a new case is filed, there are certain rules that must be followed to keep the case confidential and to prevent the defendant from finding out that the government is conducting an investigation. The procedure, known as “filing under seal,” requires that a complaint “be filed in […]

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The First Whistleblower Law Is Officially 238 Years Old!

July 30, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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Happy National Whistleblower Appreciation Day! It’s the 238th anniversary of the first whistleblower law that was passed by the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War.  The law’s origins stem from ten U.S. Naval officers reporting the mistreatment of British prisoners by their commanding officer.  In early 1777, Midshipman Samuel Shaw, Third Lieutenant Richard Marven, and eight […]

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Supreme Court Case Could Be A Mixed Bag For Future Whistleblower Cases

July 06, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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A little over two weeks ago, the Supreme Court unanimously issued a decision in Universal Health Servs., Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar that has drawn diverse reactions from the whistleblower plaintiff and defense bars as to how it will apply to future whistleblower cases. We’ve talked about Escobar twice on this blog, here […]

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SEC Issues $17 Million Whistleblower Award

June 15, 2016 | Posted By: Hoyer Law Group, PLLC

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Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it issued a whistleblower award of $17 million to an anonymous whistleblower.  The award is the second-largest whistleblower award since the program started five years ago.  The largest award came in September 2014, when the SEC awarded more than $30 million to a whistleblower for […]

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