At the annual “Continuing Judicial Education” conference in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia this week, I was honored to be invited to speak to the assembled judges about the new state False Claims Act in Georgia, the State False Medicaid Claims Act. As this whistleblower lawyer blog has written about extensively,…
At the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing on the Cayman Islands and offshore tax evasion last week, Senator Charles Grassley reiterated the importance of the new IRS Whistleblower program to combat tax evasion, but also stressed the need for Congress to provide the IRS greater tools to address offshore tax evasion.…
This past week the IRS Commissioner of the Large and Midsized Business Division summarized the IRS’s efforts to combat offshore tax evasion. He predicted that whistleblowers will become increasingly important to the IRS’ efforts, given the existence of the new IRS Whistleblower rewards. IRS Commissioner Frank Ng described to Congress…
Having lunch this week with a public servant who investigates heath care fraud, I was struck once again by his descriptions of abuses that nursing home residents too often suffer, many of which our whistleblower attorneys had also encountered in past cases. It is damnable enough to steal federal and…
The government’s announcement this week of a $60 million Medicare fraud settlement with a Missouri hospital system is yet another example of the need for ongoing deterrence of health care fraud. According to the government, Lester E. Cox Medical Systems violated the False Claims Act, the nation’s primary tool for…
The False Claims Act provides awards of 15 to 30 percent of judgments and settlements against those individuals and companies that perpetrate schemes to defraud the federal government. In the event a whistleblower files a lawsuit in the name of the United States, “blows the whistle” on the fraud scheme…
“What motivates whistleblowers” is a question that our whistleblower attorneys are asked frequently. Basic honesty and integrity–trying to do the right thing–is what we see most. It is deeply satisfying when a whistleblower’s courage in insisting on honesty and integrity is recognized and applauded. I just received this note that…
Very important amendments to the nation’s major whistleblower law, the False Claims Act, cleared the House Judiciary Committee today. The False Claims Act Corrections Act of 2007 is intended to restore the False Claims Act to its originally intended usefulness. It will eliminate many “loopholes” that dishonest government contractors have…
This past week, more than 450 of the country’s best employment lawyers who represent individuals gathered in Atlanta for the National Employment Lawyers Association’s Annual Conference. I had the pleasure of appearing with a group of excellent attorneys on a panel of that discussed “Strategic Thinking in Whistleblower Cases,” moderated…
One of the most meaningful improvements of the new IRS Whistleblower Program authorized by Congress in December 2006 is that IRS Whistleblowers have an enforceable right to a reward when they report significant tax violations. To enforce that right, tax whistleblowers can seek review by the U.S. Tax Court of…