qui tam

M&T Bank to Resolve False Claims for $64M; Whistleblower Award TBD

Submitted by mma on May 20, 2016
May 20, 2016
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M&T Bank Corp. has agreed to pay the United States $64 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the federal government by originating and underwriting mortgage loans that did not meet applicable requirements, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.

During the time period covered by the settlement, M&T Bank participated as a direct endorsement lender (DEL) in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance program.  A DEL has the authority to originate, underwrite and endorse mortgages for FHA insurance.  If a DEL approves a mortgage loan for FHA insurance and the loan later defaults, the holder of the loan may submit an insurance claim to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FHA’s parent agency, for the losses resulting from the defaulted loan.  Under the DEL program, the FHA does not review a loan for compliance with FHA requirements before it is endorsed for FHA insurance.  DELs are therefore required to follow program rules designed to ensure that they are properly underwriting and certifying mortgages for FHA insurance, to maintain a quality control program that can prevent and correct deficiencies in their underwriting practices, and to self-report any deficient loans identified by their quality control program.

The settlement resolves allegations that M&T Bank failed to comply with certain FHA origination, underwriting and quality control requirements.  As part of the settlement, M&T Bank admitted to the following facts: Between Jan. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2011, it certified for FHA insurance mortgage loans that did not meet HUD underwriting requirements and did not adhere to FHA’s quality control requirements.  Prior to 2010, M&T Bank failed to review all Early Payment Default (EPD) loans, which are loans that become 60 days past due within the first six months of repayment.  Between 2006 and 2011, M&T also failed to review an adequate sample of FHA loans, as required by HUD.    

Additionally, M&T created a quality control process that allowed it to produce preliminary major error rates that were significantly lower (sometimes below one percent) than what the rate would have been if M&T had calculated its preliminary major error rate by dividing the number of loans with preliminary major errors by the number of loans reviewed to determine what percent of loans contained a preliminary major error.

M&T Bank also failed to adhere to HUD’s self-reporting requirements.  While M&T Bank identified numerous FHA insured loans with “major errors” between 2006 and 2011, M&T Bank did not report a single loan to HUD until 2008, and thereafter self-reported only seven loans to HUD.  As a result of M&T’s conduct and omissions, HUD insured hundreds of loans approved by M&T that were not eligible for FHA mortgage insurance under the Direct Endorsement program and that HUD would not otherwise have insured.  HUD subsequently incurred substantial losses when it paid insurance claims on those loans.

The allegations resolved by this settlement arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act by a former employee of M&T Bank, Keisha Kelschenbach.  Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can sue on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.  The share to be awarded in this case has not yet been determined. 

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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Byram Healthcare and Hollister Settle False Medicaid Claims for $20.9; Whistleblower Award TBD

Submitted by mma on May 10, 2016
May 10, 2016
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Hollister Inc., a manufacturer of disposable health care products, and Byram Healthcare Centers Inc., a supplier of medical products, have to agreed to collectively pay $20.9 million to resolve allegations that the companies violated anti-kickback legislation that resulted in the submission of false claims to California's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month.

The settlement with Hollister resolves allegations that it paid kickbacks to Byram in return for marketing promotions, conversion campaigns and other referrals of patients to Hollister’s ostomy and continence care products.  On seven occasions, Hollister allegedly agreed to pay Byram the costs of bonus commissions (sometimes called spiffs) that Byram paid to its sales personnel for each new patient order for a Hollister product.  In addition, Hollister allegedly agreed to pay Byram $200,000 annually for “catalog funding” that was actually intended to induce Byram’s recommendation of Hollister products to patients.  

The settlement with Byram resolves the same catalog funding claims, as well as allegations that Byram received numerous kickbacks from Hollister and three other manufacturers of ostomy and continence care products, namely Coloplast Corp., Montreal Ostomy and Safe N’ Simple, in return for Byram’s agreement to conduct promotional campaigns and to refer patients to the manufacturers’ products.  The settlement with Byram also resolves allegations by the United States and the state of California that Byram submitted falsely inflated claims to the California Medi-Cal program in violation of California’s upper billing limit regulation, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 22, § 51008.1, which limits the amount a provider can bill for certain products.  The United States and the state of California allege that, when Byram billed Medi-Cal for Coloplast urology products that Byram sold to Medi-Cal beneficiaries, Byram knowingly failed to account for substantial discounts that Byram knew, at the time it billed the Medi-Cal program, materially reduced the prices it paid for the products. 

In connection with the False Claims Act settlement, Byram has also entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).

The settlements resolve allegations in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by two former employees and one current employee of Coloplast under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery.  The whistleblowers’ share of the Hollister and Byram settlements has not been determined.  Claims against two other defendants in the lawsuit, Coloplast Corp. and Liberator Medical Supply Inc., were resolved in December 2015 for a total of $3.66 million.  The settlements announced today bring the total recovery in the case to $24.6 million.  The whistleblowers are pursuing certain additional claims in the case. 

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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Z Gallerie Settles False Claims for $15M; Whistleblower to Get $2.4M

Submitted by mma on May 3, 2016
May 3, 2016
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California-based Z Gallerie has agreed to pay the federal government $15 million to settle allegations that the upscale furniture retailer knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims when it evaded customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.

The Department of Commerce assesses, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collects, duties to protect U.S. manufacturers from unfair competition abroad by leveling the playing field for domestic products.  The particular duties at issue in this case are antidumping duties, which protect domestic manufacturers against foreign companies “dumping” products on U.S. markets at prices below cost.  Imports of wooden bedroom furniture manufactured in the PRC have been subject to antidumping duties since 2004.

The settlement announced today resolved allegations that Z Gallerie evaded antidumping duties on wooden bedroom furniture imported from the PRC from 2007 to 2014, by misclassifying, or conspiring with others to misclassify, the imported furniture as pieces intended for non-bedroom use on documents presented to CBP.  For example, Z Gallerie allegedly sold certain Bassett Mirror Company products, including a six-drawer dresser and three-drawer chest, as part of a bedroom collection; however, these goods were misidentified on CBP documents, using descriptions such as “grand chests” and “hall chests,” in order to avoid paying antidumping duties on wooden bedroom furniture.

The allegations resolved by the settlement were originally brought by whistleblower Kelly Wells, an e-commerce retailer of furniture, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the United States those who falsely claim federal funds or, as in this case, those who avoid paying funds owed to the government or cause or conspire in such conduct.  The act also allows the whistleblower to receive a share of any funds recovered.  Wells will receive $2.4 million as her share of the settlement.

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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Wyeth and Pfizer Pay $785M to Resolve False Medicaid Claims; Whisteblower to Get $98M

Submitted by mma on April 29, 2016
April 29, 2016
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Pharmaceutical companies Wyeth and Pfizer Inc. have agreed to pay $784.6 million to resolve allegations that Wyeth knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims in connection to two of its proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs, Protonix Oral and Protonix IV, the U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this week.  Pfizer, which is headquartered in New York City, acquired New Jersey-based Wyeth in 2009, approximately three years after Wyeth had ended the conduct that gave rise to the settlement.

PPI drugs are used to treat symptoms of, among other things, acid reflux.  The government alleged that Wyeth failed to report deep discounts on Protonix Oral and Protonix IV that it made available to thousands of hospitals nationwide.  As part of the settlement, Wyeth and Pfizer do not deny the government’s allegations.

According to the government’s complaint, Wyeth sold Protonix Oral and Protonix IV through a bundled sales arrangement in which a hospital could earn deep discounts on both drugs if it placed them on formulary and made them “available” within the hospital.  Through this bundled arrangement, Wyeth sought to induce hospitals to buy and use Protonix Oral, which hospitals otherwise would have had little incentive to use, because other pre-existing oral PPI drugs were priced competitively and were considered to be as safe and effective.  Wyeth wanted to control the hospital market because patients discharged from the hospital on Protonix Oral were likely to stay on the drug for long periods of time, rather than switch to competing PPIs, during which time payers, including Medicaid, would pay nearly full price for the drug.

Under the Medicaid program, which is the nation’s provider of health insurance to the poor and disabled, drug companies must report to the government the best prices they offer other customers for their brand name drugs.  Based on these reported best prices, the drug companies pay rebates to the state Medicaid programs so that Medicaid, a large purchaser of drugs, receives the benefit of the same discounts drug companies offer to other large customers in the marketplace.

The government alleged that Wyeth hid from Medicaid the bundled discounts Wyeth gave to hospitals on Protonix Oral and Protonix IV.  As a result, Wyeth wrongfully avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates to Medicaid.  Under the terms of today’s settlement, Wyeth will pay $413,248,820 to the federal government and $371,351,180 to state Medicaid programs. 

The settlement resolves allegations filed under the False Claims Act by Lauren Kieff, a former hospital sales representative for the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP, and William St. John LaCorte, a physician practicing in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Under the False Claims Act, private parties may sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery.  The relator share in this case will be $98,058,190 and will be paid from the proceeds of the federal and state settlements. 

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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Kilgore Flares Company Settles False Claims for $8M; Whistleblower to Get $400K

Submitted by mma on March 29, 2016
March 29, 2016
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Kilgore Flares Company and subcontractor ESM Group Inc. have agreed to pay the federal government $8 million to resolve allegations that the companies knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims by selling defective infrared countermeasure flares to the U.S. Army and evading customs duties, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.  Tennessee-based Kilgore Flares manufactures and sells electronics and energetic products, such as flares, to the U.S. military.  ESM Group, located in New York, manufactures magnesium powder supplied to the chemical, welding and pyrotechnics industries.  ESM imported magnesium powder used in the flares from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which it sold to Kilgore Flares. 

The U.S. military uses infrared countermeasure flares to divert enemy heat-seeking missiles away from U.S. military aircraft.  A primary component of these flares is ultrafine magnesium powder, which combined with other materials, provides ignition and enables the flares to burn at high temperatures and at rates that mimic an aircraft’s engine.  Kilgore’s contracts with the army prohibited the use of magnesium powder from foreign countries (except Canada) in order to maintain domestic manufacturing capability in the interest of national defense. 

The United States alleged that ESM knowingly misrepresented the content of ultrafine magnesium powder imported from the PRC in order to avoid paying antidumping duties owed to the United States.  Antidumping duties protect against foreign companies “dumping” products on the U.S. market at prices below cost.  The U.S. Department of Commerce assesses and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collects these duties to protect U.S. businesses and level the playing field for domestic products.  At the time of the imports alleged in this case, ultrafine magnesium powder from the PRC was subject to a 305 percent antidumping duty. 

The government further alleged that Kilgore used the illegally imported Chinese magnesium powder purchased from ESM in the countermeasure flares it sold to the U.S. Army.  The Chinese magnesium powder allegedly violated both the requirement for domestically produced powder and engineering specifications required by the contracts.  

Kilgore and ESM agreed to pay $6 million and $2 million, respectively, to resolve the government’s allegations. 

Prior to the civil settlements with Kilgore and ESM, five former employees and agents of ESM pleaded guilty to criminal offenses related to the magnesium importation scheme, including ESM’s former president, Charles Wright.  The criminal defendants were ordered to pay more than $14 million in restitution.

The settlement with ESM resolved a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.  The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the United States those who falsely claim federal funds or, as in this case, those who avoid paying funds owed to the government.  The lawsuit was filed by Reade Manufacturing Company, a domestic manufacturer of magnesium powder.  The act also allows the whistleblower to receive a share of any funds recovered through the lawsuit.  Reade Manufacturing received $400,000 as part of the settlement with ESM.  

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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Respironics Settles False Medicare Claims for $34.8M; Whistleblower to Get $5.38M

Submitted by mma on March 25, 2016
March 25, 2016
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Respironics Inc. has agreed to pay $34.8 million to resolve allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to state and federal health care programs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this week.

The United States alleged that Respironics violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by providing free services to durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers to induce them to purchase Respironics masks that treat sleep apnea.  Respironics allegedly provided DME companies with call center services to meet their patients’ resupply needs at no charge as long as the patients were using masks that Respironics manufactured; otherwise, the DME companies would have to pay a monthly fee based on the number of patients who used masks manufactured by a competitor of Respironics.

The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits the knowing and willful payment of any remuneration to induce the referral of services or items that are paid for by a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE.  Claims submitted to these programs in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute are also false claims under the False Claims Act.

Respironics will pay roughly $34.14 million to the federal government and roughly $660,000 to various state governments based on their participation in the Medicaid program. 

The settlement resolves a lawsuit originally brought by Dr. Gibran Ameer, who has worked for different DME companies, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The Act permits private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery.   Under the civil settlement announced today, Dr. Ameer will receive $5.38 million out of the federal share of the 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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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Bard College Settles False Claims For $4M; Whistleblower Award TBA

Submitted by mma on March 22, 2016
March 22, 2016
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Bard College has agreed to pay $4 million in order to resolve allegations that the college violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with the conditions of federal grant money, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced earlier this month.

Bard College, a nonprofit institution with its main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, received funds under the Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program. The settlement resolves allegations that Bard received funds under the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program despite failing to comply with the conditions of the grant.

The settlement also resolves allegations that Bard awarded, disbursed, and received Title IV student loan funds at campus locations before such locations were accredited or before providing notice of such locations to the Department of Education, in violation of applicable regulations and Bard’s Title IV Program Participation Agreements with the Department of Education.

The settlement stems from a whistleblower complaint filed by two former students of Bard’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Paramount Bard Academy in Delano, California (Kern County) pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private persons to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in the proceeds of the suit. The act permits the United States to intervene and take over the lawsuit, as it did in this case as to some of the students’ claims. The students will receive a percentage share of the settlement in an amount to be determined.

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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Hayner Hoyt Pays $5M to Resolve False Contract Claims; Whistleblower to Get $875K

Submitted by mma on March 15, 2016
March 15, 2016
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Hayner Hoyt Corporation has agreed to pay $5 million, plus interest, to resolve allegations that its top executives and affiliates knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims while exploiting contracting opportunities reserved for service-disabled veterans, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.

The United States has long used government contracting to promote small businesses in general and specifically small businesses owned by veterans who have service-connected disabilities.  Congress has established a targeted procurement program for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which requires the VA to set annual goals for contracting with service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.  To be eligible for these contracts, an applicant must qualify as a “small business.”  In addition to being a small business, a service-disabled veteran must own and control the business and handle its strategic decisions and day-to-day management.

The settlement resolves allegations that the defendants orchestrated a scheme designed to take advantage of the service-disabled veteran-owned small business program to secure government contracts for a now-defunct company, 229 Constructors LLC, that Gary and Jeremy Thurston created and controlled and subcontracts for Hayner Hoyt and its affiliates.  The Thurstons – neither of whom is a veteran – exerted significant influence over 229 Constructors’ decision-making during the bid, award and performance of these contracts in various ways, including by staffing the company entirely with then-current and former Hayner Hoyt employees and their spouses.  They also provided 229 Constructors with considerable resources, which provided it with a competitive advantage over legitimate service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses neither affiliated with nor controlled by a larger, non-veteran owned corporation.  Hayner Hoyt officials caused false certifications and statements to be made to the government representing that 229 Constructors met all requirements to be a service-disabled veteran-owned small business when they knew, or should have known, that 229 Constructors did not meet such requirements.  By diverting contracts and benefits intended for our nation’s service-disabled veterans to Hayner Hoyt and its affiliates, the defendants undercut Congress’s intent of encouraging contract awards to legitimate service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

The investigation revealed that Ralph Bennett – a service-disabled veteran who allegedly ran 229 Constructors, served as its president and oversaw its $14.4 million government-contracts portfolio – was not involved in making important business decisions for the company.  He was instead responsible for overseeing Hayner Hoyt’s tool inventory and plowing snow from Hayner Hoyt’s property.  Jeremy Thurston set up an email account in Bennett’s name in such a way that all emails received by the veteran were automatically forwarded to him.  After the government began to question 229 Constructors’ affiliation with Hayner Hoyt, Gary Thurston wrote others that he and Jeremy Thurston would likely terminate operations of 229 Constructors.  A few months later, service-disabled veteran Bennett and Steve Benedict, who was simultaneously the “co-owner” of 229 Constructors and listed on Hayner Hoyt’s website as one of its five “key” officials, transferred a total of $52,000 to Gary Thurston’s personal bank account, allegedly to show their appreciation for the assistance he had provided.

Defendants make various admissions in the settlement agreement, including that their conduct violated federal regulations designed to encourage contract awards to legitimate service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.  They also admit that 229 Constructors provided more than $1.3 million in service-disabled veteran-owned small business subcontracts to Hayner Hoyt, LeMoyne Interiors, and Doyner, and that those companies generated $296,819 in gross profits as a result.

The government’s investigation was triggered by a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private persons, known as “relators,” to file civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.  The relator in this case will receive $875,000 of the settlement proceeds.  The case is docketed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York under number 14-cv-830.

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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21st Century Oncology Settles False Claims for $34.7M; Whistleblower to Get $7M

Submitted by mma on March 11, 2016
March 11, 2016
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21st Century Oncology Inc., the nation’s largest physician led integrated cancer care provider and its wholly owned subsidiary South Florida Radiation Oncology LLC, has agreed to pay $34.7 million to the federal government to settle allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for procedures that were not medically necessary, the U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this week.

The settlement relates to defendants use of a medical procedure – called the Gamma function – to measure the exit dose of radiation from a patient after receiving radiation treatment.  The United States alleged that the defendants knowingly and improperly billed for this procedure under circumstances where the procedure served no medically appropriate purpose.  For example, the government alleged that the procedure was performed by physicians and physicists at 21st Century Oncology locations who were not properly trained to interpret and utilize the Gamma function results.  The government also alleged that the defendants billed for this procedure when no physician reviewed the Gamma function results until seven or more days after the last day patients received radiation treatment therapy.  Finally, the government alleged that the defendants billed for the procedure when no Gamma result was available due to technical failures in the imaging equipment. 

This lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Joseph Ting, a former physicist at South Florida Radiation Oncology.  Under those provisions, a private party, known as a relator, can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery.  Ting will receive more than $7 million. 

This past December, 21st Century Oncology LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of 21st Century Oncology Inc., paid $19.75 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing for medically unnecessary laboratory urine tests and for encouraging physicians to order these tests by offering bonuses based in part on the number of tests the physicians referred to its laboratory. 

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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ArmorSource Resolves False Contract Claims for $3M; Whistleblowers to Get $450K

Submitted by mma on March 8, 2016
March 8, 2016
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Ohio-based ArmorSource, LLC has agreed to pay the federal government $3 million to resolve allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims in connection to a U.S. Army contract, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.

In 2006, the Army contracted with ArmorSource to manufacture the Advanced Combat Helmet or ACH for use by soldiers in combat.  ACH helmets are made of Kevlar, an armored material, and are worn to provide ballistic protection for the soldier.  The United States alleged that ArmorSource delivered ACH helmets to the Army that were manufactured and tested using methods that did not conform to contract requirements and that failed to meet contract performance standards.  In May 2010, the Army began recalling the helmets after several lots failed ballistic safety tests.

ArmorSource subcontracted the manufacturing to Federal Prison Industries, Inc., which operates under the trade name UNICOR.  This settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by whistleblowers Melessa Ponzio and Sharon Clubb, FPI employees, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.  The Act permits private individuals to sue on behalf of the government those who falsely claim federal funds and to receive a share of any recovery.  Ms. Ponzio and Ms. Clubb will receive $450,000.

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 expose every kind of fraud against the 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.

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