The drug and medical device/testing industry is under significant pressure to develop new products to address the COVID-19 pandemic.  The federal government is increasing spending and support of drug and device companies in anticipation of developing a new vaccine, treatment products and testing.  As a result, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostic and laboratory tests will be subject to federal scrutiny and monitoring for proper use...

When Congress enacts massive financial relief legislation, one inevitable result is fraud, waste and abuse.  Going back to the financial crisis in 2008, DOJ had a trove of criminal fraud and civil fraud cases under the False Claims Act. With the passage of the CARES Act, you can count on DOJ ramping up criminal and civil fraud prosecutions, especially under the False Claims Act.  The...

Jessica Sanderson, Of Counsel at The Volkov Law Group rejoins us for her annual review of False Claims Act enforcement. Jessica can be reached at [email protected]. 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), and it unwrapped a nice gift: On January 9, 2020, DOJ released its Fraud Statistics showing that it obtained more than $3 billion under the False Claims Act...

The Justice Department continues to aggressively pursue False Claims Act cases.  In 2019, DOJ recovered over $3 billion from healthcare, defense and financial companies.  The heath care sector — pharmaceutical, medical device, hospitals and healthcare providers — continues to be the primary focus of False Claims Act cases.  Qui tam relators initiate a significant percentage of all False Claims Act cases. In this episode, Michael Volkov...

Companies that depend on federal funding (e.g. healthcare, government contractors and university researchers) face significant risks for False Claims Act prosecutions.  Relying on pro-government False Claims Act statutes, potential whistleblowers can earn enormous judgments by filing private actions under seal, and seeking federal government intervention in the matter, to prosecute False Claims Act violations.  In those cases where the federal government agrees to intervene, the...

Jessica Sanderson, Of Counsel, The Volkov Law Group, joins us for her initial posting on the False Claims Act. Jessica can be reached at [email protected]. On December 21, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released its Fraud statistics showing $2.8 billion recovery under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) for 2018.[1] While this number is staggering, fiscal year 2018 FCA recoveries were down more than ½...

Webinar: The False Claims Act — Enforcement Risks and Compliance Trends Tuesday, October 10, 2018 Sign Up Here Companies in the defense and healthcare industries face significant risks from False Claims Act prosecutions and litigation. The Justice Department has an impressive record of annual recoveries totaling over $2 billion. A vibrant whistleblower community and legal practitioners create significant risks for companies in these industries. To...