Any time a person needs to file a lawsuit, it is natural to worry about going to court. Most people do not want to face the person they are accusing in court, and just the process of appearing in court often means the case will be quite lengthy, meaning the…
Plaintiffs in a qui tam lawsuit are known as relators. The majority of relators are employees who have noticed activity that defrauds the government and violates the federal False Claims Act and the California False Claims Act. Due to the fact that it is mainly employees who file qui tam…
Under the federal Anti-Kickback statute, doctors and other healthcare professionals are prohibited from knowingly or willfully paying, offering, soliciting, or accepting remuneration in exchange for patient referrals. Under the statute, it is also illegal to offer something of value or pay for payments of goods and services that healthcare professionals…
Individuals who believe they have observed someone else defrauding the government often wonder if they have a valid claim. The answer to that is a difficult one, and no one can really determine if a claim is valid without fully analyzing the facts of the case. However, if you believe…
One common category of healthcare fraud schemes in the medical laboratory industry revolves around medically unnecessary testing. There are many different ways in which the medical laboratory industry fraudulently commits medically unnecessary testing, which are highlighted below. If you believe you have witnessed healthcare fraud involving medically unnecessary testing, contact…
As a relator in a qui tam lawsuit, you are entitled to receive up to 50% of the recovered amount under the California False Claims Act (CFCA). With such a big range of recovery, however, you may be wondering just how much you are actually entitled to receive. The factors…
When qui tam cases under the False Claims Act (FCA) are first filed, they are to remain under seal for 60 days. During this time, the case is secret. The defendant is not even served yet, so it likely does not know there is a suit filed against it unless…
On July 13, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., announced the Department of Justice’s largest ever health care fraud enforcement action. The work of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, established in 2007, led to 412 defendants being charged with health…
There are currently two False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam cases against United Health Group (UHG) pending in the Central District of California. The cases are: U.S. ex rel. Benjamin Poehling v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc. and U.S. ex rel. Swoben v. Secure Horizons, et al. The cases were brought by…
In the qui tam case of BlueWave Healthcare v. U.S., the government was allowed to execute writs of attachment against both real and personal property and writs of garnishment against bank accounts of the defendants under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (FDCPA). The defendant’s attempted to appeal the denial…