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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
I am not one to engage in hyperbole. But when it comes to blockchain technology and the implications for our economy, this is going to be the real deal. In the world of ethics and compliance, blockchain has many possible applications that could easily transform compliance capabilities. To show my age, let’s go back into time and remember when we all were buying personal computers...
There are two types of deterrence – specific and general. Specific deterrence focuses on the risk of recidivism by the individual defendant. General deterrence is focused on preventing others from engaging in similar misconduct. Deterrence depends on three basic factors: certainty; severity and swiftness of punishment. The certainty of punishment is a significant factor for obvious reasons – if there is a little chance that...
When Judge Denny Chin sentenced Bernie Madoff, perhaps the most notorious white-collar criminal, Judge Chin imposed a sentence of 150 years, the maximum possible under the law. Madoff was 71 years old. His Ponzi scheme resulted in the loss of $64.8 billion. While Judge Chin may have imposed a lesser sentence without altering the fact that Madoff will die while incarcerated, Judge Chin specifically cited...
The sentencing of criminal defendants continues to create controversy. There are so many categories of crime and ranges of punishment – the issue always calls for difficult judgments and inevitably results in vigorous debate. In this three-part series, I plan to examine some of the issues surrounding sentencing of white-collar defendants and deterrence. It is often presumed that stiff sentencing of white-collar defendants is an...
