Corruption, Crime & Compliance

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19 Aug, 2018

Episode 52 — The False Claims Act and Healthcare Fraud

The federal government continues to push aggressive False Claims Act enforcement cases against healthcare companies, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospices and other healthcare providers. The Justice Department has employed the False Claims Act to target companies in the opioid industry as a response to the opioid crisis in our country. Healthcare companies have to implement effective ethics and compliance controls to protect against fraud...

General

19 Aug, 2018

New Episode Everything Compliance: The Five-Year Retrospective Edition

Tom Fox, Matt Kelly, Jonathan Armstrong, Jay Rosen and myself recently recorded a new episode of Everything Compliance — Five-Year Retrospective Edition. You can listen to it here. Everything Compliance is the only roundtable podcast in compliance, with four of the top compliance practitioners around. This week the gang returns to its four focused topics on its Five-Year Retrospective Edition. Matt Kelly considers how did...

General

16 Aug, 2018

Federal Enforcement and the Opioid Epidemic (Part IV of IV)

The scope of our country’s opioid epidemic is devastating. From 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 people have died from a drug overdose. Two-thirds of these deaths involved an opioid. On average, 195 Americans dies every day from an opioid overdose. These numbers are tragic and mind-boggling. In response, federal enforcement efforts have primarily focused on criminal prosecutions, but there have also been significant civil...

Events

16 Aug, 2018

Webinar: FCPA Risks and Mergers and Acquisitions

Webinar: FCPA Risks and Mergers and Acquisitions September 5, 2018, 12 Noon EST Sign Up HERE Companies confront significant anti-corruption risks when acquiring other businesses. Successor companies have to conduct pre-closing due diligence and manage anti-corruption risks in the integration process. The Justice Department and the SEC have aggressively enforced the FCPA and are now encouraging companies to voluntarily disclose FCPA misconduct and cooperate. Join...

General

15 Aug, 2018

Rolling Along with False Claims Act Enforcement Actions (Part III of IV)

Despite the controversial impact of the Supreme Court’s Escobar decision, the Justice Department’s False Claims Act prosecutions and settlements are continuing at a consistent rate – heading towards another multi-billion dollar year of FCA recoveries. Some examples of these prosecutions and settlements will demonstrate my overall point – FCA risks are significant and healthcare providers, especially hospitals, have to devote time and attention to oversight...

General

14 Aug, 2018

Hospital Official and Three Dentists Convicted for Kickback and Bribery in RICO Criminal Case (Part II of IV)

The Justice Department has continued to pursue healthcare fraud and bribery criminal prosecutions. Healthcare fraud remains a high priority for criminal enforcement. With the pervasive problem of fraud and bribery, the healthcare industry continues to suffer from corrupt officials and physicians. Government regulation of the healthcare industry provides many opportunities and incentives for industry participants to cheat the system. In a recent case, the Justice...

General

13 Aug, 2018

The Supreme Court’s Escobar Decision and the Impact on False Claims Act Cases (Part I of IV)

This week I am running a series of posts on healthcare fraud enforcement and the False Claims Act. With all the controversy swirling around the Mueller investigation and prosecutions, the Justice Department continues its aggressive pursuit of healthcare fraud. The Justice Department’s machinery and resources are producing a steady stream of False Claims Act cases and settlements. Just like other enforcement areas, companies in the...

Podcasts

12 Aug, 2018

Episode 51 — Interview of Dr. Pat Harned, CEO of the Ethics and Compliance Initiative

Dr. Pat Harned is the CEO of the Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI). The mission of the ECI is to empower organizations to build and sustain high quality ethics & compliance programs. Dr. Harned is a leading compliance advocate and strategist. The ECI has been at the forefront of developing compliance standards and best practices. In this episode, Michael Volkov interviews Dr. Harned about the ECI’s...

General

8 Aug, 2018

Crime-Fraud Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege

The attorney-client privilege is an invaluable tool that is used to encourage frank and open communications between a client and an attorney. Clients rely on the privilege when communicating with attorneys. It is important to remember that the attorney-client privilege applies only to communications between a client and an attorney for the purpose of seeking legal advice. A company’s reliance on the attorney-client privilege provides...

General

7 Aug, 2018

Real-World Applications of Blockchain to Compliance (Part II of II)

The financial industry has embraced the future of blockchain technology. And for good reason. As a regulated industry that is required to provide regulators with large amounts of financial data, blockchain can make that process pain-free. Financial institutions have to collect, organize and deliver large amounts of risk data to federal regulators. Much of the information has been stored in “older” information technology systems and/or...