Qui tam lawsuits – also known as whistleblower lawsuits – involve allegations of fraud against federal or state government agencies. Federal whistleblower lawsuits are filed under a federal law known as the False Claims Act, while state-level actions are filed under similar laws in the state where the fraud is alleged to have occurred.
Walmart has agreed to pay $1.65 million to settle allegations of violations of the False Claims Act committed by the company. Walmart was accused by federal investigators of knowingly submitting claims for reimbursement under California’s Medi-Cal program that were not supported by diagnosis and documentation requirements called for by the law.
A group of six whistleblowers who filed a qui tam lawsuit against Marinello Beauty Schools will receive $2.75-3.3 million as part of an $11 million settlement between the organization and the federal government. The lawsuit against Marinello accused the beauty school of defrauding the federal government by making false claims to obtain financial aid money…
The Supreme Court has ruled that a federal contractor’s Medicaid claims may be held illegal as part of a qui tam lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act even in cases where payment conditions were never explicitly stated. This doctrine, known as “implied certification,” expands the definition of fraud against the federal government that can…
A Wisconsin medical software company has been awarded $940 million in damages in an intellectual property lawsuit filed against an India-based technology provider. The verdict in the lawsuit filed by Epic Systems against Tata Consultancies is one of the largest damage awards on record in a case involving commercial trade secrets.
A former Volkswagen of America employee has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in Michigan, asserting that VW employees illegally deleted electronic data shortly after the United States government accused the carmaker of cheating on emissions tests in what has become known as the “Dieselgate” scandal.
Executives with Takeda Pharmaceutical, the manufacturer of Actos, admitted that they had paid physicians to prescribe the drug to patients with pre-diabetes, a former GlaxoSmithKline executive and whistleblower testified recently in Massachusetts federal court. Peter P. Lawton, the former director of patent life-cycle maximization at GSK, said that Takeda engaged in a kickback scheme despite…
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled that the anti-retaliatory provisions for whistleblowers passed by Congress in the Dodd-Frank Act apply “only within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.” The court ruled in Liu v. Siemens A.G., No. 13-4385 that foreign-based employees who report corporate misconduct on the part…
The law firm of Heygood, Orr & Pearson was founded on the simple idea that companies and individuals should be accountable for their own actions. When they refuse to take responsibility for their wrongdoing, we believe they should be made to do so in a court of law.
Laws passed by the U.S. government and numerous states allow whistleblowers who alert the authorities to fraud, theft, or other misuse of government funds to receive a percentage of the money recovered in the case.
In September, the Securities and Exchange Commission authorized an award of more than $30 million to a whistleblower who had provided information that led to a successful SEC enforcement action. According to the SEC, the information provided by the whistleblower allowed the SEC to discover a substantial and ongoing fraud that otherwise would have been…
Ruling in favor of a whistleblower, a federal jury in Marshall, Texas has ordered Trinity Industries to pay $175 million in damages for defrauding the government regarding guardrails that have been installed throughout the country. The case was brought under the False Claims Act by Joshua Harman, who discovered that the company made changes in…