False Claims Act

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it was joining a civil lawsuit alleging that Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel and Tailwind Sports LLC and Tailwind Sports Corporation (Tailwind) submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in connection with its sponsorship of a professional bicycle racing team by regularly employing banned substances and methods to enhance their performance, in violation of the USPS sponsorship agreements.  

“Lance Armstrong and his cycling team took more than $30 million from the U.S. Postal Service based on their contractual promise to play fair and abide by the rules – including the rules against doping,” said Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. 

The lawsuit joined by the United States was  filed under the False Claims Act, which imposes liability on those who submit false claims for government funds, and provides for the recovery of three times the government’s damages, plus civil penalties.   The False Claims Act contains a qui tam or whistleblower provision, which permits private parties to sue on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in any recovery.

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who uncover fraud of every kind perpetrated against our government including, health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has secured $4.9 billion in settlements and judgments in civil cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012. This figure tops the Justice Department's 2011 recoveries by $1.7 billion. Of the $4.9 billion in fiscal year 2012 recoveries, a record $3.3 billion was recovered in whistleblower suits. In fiscal year 2012 alone, relators filed 647 qui tam suits. Since 1986, whistleblowers have been awarded nearly $4 billion, with $439 million in awards in fiscal year 2012.

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who uncover fraud of every kind perpetrated against our government including, health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.

The Journal of Accountancy reports that the Internal Revenue Service has proposed regulations for whistleblower awards in violation of tax law cases and for the disclosure of tax return information. The proposed regulations are intended to provide general rules for submitting claims to the IRS, rules for proceedings, and factors to evaluate the size of an award. Read the Proposed Regulations.

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who uncover fraud of every kind perpetrated against our government including, health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.

According to the Corporate Crime Reporter, federal and state whistleblower claims under the False Claims Act resulted in more than $9 billion in recoveries in 2012, more than double the amount in 2011.  A single Medicaid HMO case in California was responsible for $300 million of that, according to the article, and of the 30 largest settlements, 28 were whistleblower-related.

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who uncover fraud of every kind perpetrated against our government including, health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.

A CVS subsidiary, RxAmerica, has agreed to a $5 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice based on allegations that they defrauded the Medicare prescription drug plan.  RxAmerica allegedly received Medicare Part D payments for covered generic prescription medication at prices that were sometimes significantly higher than pricing data the company submitted to Medicare's web-based Plan Finder tool.  This not only cost the Medicare program money, but also allegedly caused beneficiaries losses when they entered a gap in their coverage (frequently referred to as the "donut hole") due to the price difference of their medication.  The two whistleblower plaintiffs in the case should be eligible for up to 30% of the settlement according to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, but the press release from the Department of Justice did not specify the amount.

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who uncover fraud of every kind perpetrated against our government including, health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.