Will Pennsylvania Adopt a False Claims Act? Once again, Pennsylvania legislators have the opportunity to adopt a state False Claims Act. The federal False Claims Act (FCA) was enacted in 1863 to redress fraud perpetrated by companies that sold supplies to the Union Army during the Civil War. Since its enactment, the FCA has been...
Congress Seeks to Address Employee Misclassification The Teamsters Union has expressed its support of new legislation introduced in the Senate that may help prevent workers from being misclassified as independent contractors. This new legislation could affect the trucking industry’s use of owner-operators and lease operators. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) stated that “For too long workers...
Choosing a Qui Tam Attorney While the federal False Claims Act has been on the books for close to a century and a half since the original was passed in 1863, recent amendments and a corresponding increased interest in government prosecutions in these tough economic times has led to a heightened awareness of individuals’ rights...
Military Contractors: Big Bucks, Big Fraud Most of us are aware of the fact that the U.S. government is using a large number of military contractors in its operations. What many people don’t know, however, is that as of March, 2009, there were more Department of Defense contractors than uniformed personnel in Afghanistan. According to...
Government Whistleblowers in the Crosshairs Normally, the government tends to appreciate whistleblowers–at least when they’re helping the government get back millions of dollars stolen by a shady contractor. When it comes to national secrets, however, the government takes off the gloves and will vigorously pursue government employees who are believed to have leaked government secrets....
Recent Qui Tam Cases Part 1: Medicare and Medicaid A good way to understand what may qualify as a qui tam case is to consider some recent examples. Qui tam encompasses many, many areas (think about how many things the government pays individuals and companies to “git ‘r done”). We’ll try to focus on the hot areas...
Protecting Animals with the FCA A fascinating False Claims Act case that began back in 2001 has met another procedural roadblock, although it may not be over yet. The case highlights the fact that the FCA covers seemingly limitless subjects due to the sheer variety of things on which the government spends our money. The case,United States...
Recent Qui Tam Cases Part 3: Governments Behaving Badly Are you a state or local government employee? Keep a close eye on your employer–they may be ripping off taxpayers and the federal government– and setting themselves up for a qui tam suit. Furthermore, guess who ends up footing the bill for all those hours the state...
Everyone in the line of fire needs body armor these days, even the dogs. The problem is, manufacturers keep making shoddy body armor–and ripping off taxpayers in the process. In particularly disgraceful fashion, a body armor manufacturer allegedly sold a fabric called Zylon to the government to protect law enforcement officers and service members–all the while...
Drug Companies Up to Their Old Tricks We hear what seem like the same old stories over and over, but here it goes again. Yet another drug company has entered into a multi-million dollar settlement with the government over allegations that it engaged in health care fraud by falsely claimed eligibility for federal reimbursement for its drug....