Judge Anderson of the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Nelnet, Sallie Mae, and other defendants in a qui tam whistleblower action to explore potential resolution of Jon Oberg’s claim, which we blogged about here. One of the defendants, Brazos Higher Education Service Corp., settled the action last week. The plaintiff is represented by Wiley Rein [...]
Entries Tagged as 'False Claims Act'
Judge Orders Student Loan Companies and Qui Tam Whistleblower Oberg to Explore Potential Resolution of Qui Tam Claim
August 9th, 2010 · No Comments
Tags: False Claims Act · The Employment Law Group, P.C.
WTOP Reports Qui Tam Whistleblower Oberg and Student Loan Companies are Exploring Potential Resolution of Qui Tam Claim
August 9th, 2010 · No Comments
WTOP reports that Nebraska-based Nelnet, Sallie Mae, and several other student loan companies are exploring a potential resolution of a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit brought by TELG client Jon Oberg accusing them of defrauding the federal government. Jon Oberg, a former Department of Education researcher, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the federal government under [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · The Employment Law Group, P.C.
Protected Conduct Under the False Claims Act Does Not Require a Showing that Plaintiff Knew About the Act
August 3rd, 2010 · No Comments
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that an employee is protected from retaliation under the retaliation provision of the False Claims Act when reporting any activity that reasonably could lead to a False Claims Act (FCA) suit even when the employee is completely unaware of the FCA. Plaintiff Christopher Gobble was [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Retaliation
U.S. Dept. of Justice Urges Federal Court to Allow $1 Billion False Claims Act Case to Move Forward Against Nelnet
July 30th, 2010 · No Comments
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a brief in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia rejecting Nelnet, Inc.’s contention that its settlements with the Department of Education (ED) bar Oberg’s qui tam action. Dr. Jon H. Oberg, a former employee of the Department of Education, brought a qui tam seeking the return [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · The Employment Law Group, PC
The Employment Law Group® Law Firm is Quoted in BNA Article on New Dodd-Frank Act
July 23rd, 2010 · No Comments
Principal Jason Zuckerman of The Employment Law Group® law firm is quoted in an article in BNA’s Daily Labor Report titled “Attorneys Agree Financial Overhaul Bill Has Vigorous Whistleblower Protections” about the whistleblower provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Dodd-Frank Act which we blogged about here, contains [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Retaliation · Sarbanes-Oxley · The Employment Law Group, P.C.
The Employment Law Group® Law Firm Publishes Article on the Whistleblower Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act
July 21st, 2010 · No Comments
The Employment Law Group® Law Firm principals Scott Oswald and Jason Zuckerman published an article in Law360 titled “Whistleblower Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.” The article discusses the whistleblower provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The article is available here. For more information about The Employment Law Group® [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Financial Institutions Reform · Sarbanes-Oxley · The Employment Law Group, P.C.
National Law Journal Quotes The Employment Law Group® Law Firm About Whistleblower Provisions in Financial Services Reform Legislation
July 20th, 2010 · No Comments
The Employment Law Group® law firm is quoted in the lead story in The National Law Journal titled “Financial Reform Includes New Whistleblower Program.” The article reports on the whistleblower protection provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which we blogged about here. The article states in part: However, employment and whistleblower [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Retaliation · Sarbanes-Oxley · The Employment Law Group, P.C.
Dodd-Frank Bill Provides Robust Whistleblower Protections
July 15th, 2010 · No Comments
Recognizing that robust whistleblower protection is critical to preventing another financial crisis, Congress included in the Dodd-Frank financial services reform bill (H.R. 4173) numerous provisions designed to encourage whistleblowing and to provide robust protection from retaliation. These provisions create monetary awards for whistleblowers who provide original information to the SEC or CFTC, strengthen the whistleblower [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Federal Whistleblower Legislation · OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program · Retaliation · Sarbanes-Oxley
Northrop Grumman Agrees to Settle FCA Allegations for $12.5 Million
July 6th, 2010 · No Comments
On June 23, 2010, the FBI’s Los Angeles office announced that Northrop Grumman paid $12.5 million to settle allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims to several government agencies. Northrop Grumman allegedly supplied the government with untested commercial-grade electrical components which were used in military and space applications. The components should have been tested to [...]
Tags: False Claims Act
Washington Business Journal Covers TELG Client’s Whistleblower Lawsuit
June 21st, 2010 · No Comments
On June 18, 2010, the Washington Business Journal wrote an article discussing the False Claims Act retaliation lawsuit filed by Robert Fagg against his former employer SmithGroup. The article is titled “Fired SmithGroup engineer files whistle-blower suit.” Robert, a former vice president in charge of quality-control reviews, raised numerous concerns about serious defects in mechanical [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · The Employment Law Group, P.C.
Medical Device Manufacturer, Hospitals Settle False Claims Act Allegations for $3.8m
June 16th, 2010 · No Comments
According to a Department of Justice press release dated June 4, 2010, St. Jude Medical Inc., a heart device manufacturer, Parma Community General Hospital, and Norton Healthcare have settled allegations of an illegal kickback scheme for $3.8 million. According to the press release, the kickbacks caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care [...]
Tags: False Claims Act
Supreme Court Rules That Public Disclosure Bar to False Claims Act Qui Tam Actions Applies to County and State Administrative Reports, Audits, and Investigations
March 30th, 2010 · No Comments
On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court issued an opinion widening the public disclosure bar to qui tam actions brought under the False Claims Act (FCA), holding that “the reference to ‘administrative’ reports, audits, and investigations” contained in the public disclosure bar of the FCA “encompasses disclosures made in state and local sources as well [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Federal Whistleblower Legislation
Illinois Whistleblower Beats Summary Judgment, Heads to Trial in FCA Retaliation Case
March 17th, 2010 · No Comments
On March 8, 2010, Judge Anderson issued an opinion broadly construing the scope of actionable retaliation under the False Claims Act (FCA), allowing whistleblower Ann Howard to proceed with her FCA retaliation claim in U.S. ex rel. Howard v. Urban Inv. Trust, Inc.. Howard was employed as an accountant for Urban, a property management company [...]
Tags: Contractor Fraud · False Claims Act · Retaliation · The Employment Law Group, P.C.
Eleventh Circuit Partially Reverses Dismissal of FCA Case
February 25th, 2010 · No Comments
On February 18, 2010, the Eleventh Circuit partially overruled a district court’s dismissal of a False Claims Act case. In US ex rel. Sanchez v. Lymphatx, Inc., an employee brought a False Claims Act action against her former employer for fraudulent Medicare billing practices and retaliation. She also alleges that she was fired after complaining [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Retaliation
Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act of 2009 Introduced to Senate Committee
November 2nd, 2009 · No Comments
On October 28, 2009 the Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act of 2009 (S. 1959) was introduced to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. If passed, the bill would aid the government in prosecuting health care fraud and provide stiffer penalties for cases that involve a loss of over $1 million. In addition to increasing the [...]
Tags: False Claims Act
Four Drug Companies Settle False Claims Act Case for $124 Mil.
October 22nd, 2009 · No Comments
On October 19, 2009, the Department of Justice announced that four pharmaceutical manufacturers, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, and Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical settled claims brought against them under the False Claims Act for $124 million. The case alleged that the companies misclassified “innovator” drugs as “non-innovator” drugs and underpaid quarterly rebates owed to state [...]
Tags: False Claims Act
D.C. District Court Rejects Employer’s Attempt to Carve New Loopholes Into Whistleblower Protection Statutes
September 17th, 2009 · No Comments
Affirming a jury’s finding that Mohammed Kakeh, a Controller for the United Planning Organization (“UPO”) was terminated for his refusal to engage in fraudulent billing and for providing information to the Office of Inspector General, Judge Kessler rejected several arguments by UPO that would undermine the statutory whistleblower protections under which Kakeh brought his claim, [...]
Tags: D.C. False Claims Act · D.C. Whistleblower Protection Act · False Claims Act
Whistleblower Suit Against Student Loan Companies Unsealed in Federal District Court
August 31st, 2009 · No Comments
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia today unsealed a lawsuit against a number of student loan companies, including Nelnet, Inc and Sallie Mae, filed on behalf of the United States by Dr. Jon H. Oberg. The action seeks the return of approximately $1 billion in “special allowance” payments wrongfully extracted [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · The Employment Law Group, PC
Boeing Company Settles False Claims Act Suit for $2 Million
August 17th, 2009 · No Comments
The Boeing Company has agreed to pay $2 million to resolve claims that the company overbilled the government from 2002 to 2005 for work done at a San Antonio Plant. According to the suit, brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, Boeing inflated its estimates for the number of hours required [...]
Tags: False Claims Act
New York Settles False Claims Act Suit for $540 Million
July 24th, 2009 · No Comments
The state and city of New York have agreed to pay a total of $540 million to resolve allegations of Medicaid fraud. The suit, originally brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, alleged that between 1990 and 2001 the state of New York knowingly submitted claims for reimbursement to the federal [...]
Tags: False Claims Act
Seventh Circuit Clarifies that False Claims Act Retaliation Claims Do Not Preclude Subsequently Filed Qui Tam Claims
July 2nd, 2009 · No Comments
The Seventh Circuit has held that the outcome of a False Claims Act retaliation claim does not preclude a plaintiff from filing a subsequent qui tam action. In Lusby v. Rolls-Royce Corporation, Curtis Lusby filed a complaint against his former employer Rolls-Royce alleging that Rolls-Royce terminated him for raising concerns about the company’s misrepresentation of [...]
Tags: False Claims Act
Law360 Quotes The Employment Law Group® Law Firm on New False Claims Act
May 19th, 2009 · No Comments
In an article titled, “Financial Anti-Fraud Act Advances For Final Approval,” Law 360 reports about the recently enacted Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act (FERA).The article discusses the ways in which FERA will assist the government in combating fraud. The article quotes The Employment Group® law firm, which observed that “strengthening the whistleblower statutes will give the [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · The Employment Law Group, P.C.
Congress Reinvigorates False Claims Act
May 19th, 2009 · No Comments
Yesterday Congress enacted the Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act of 2009 (S.386) to curb fraud in the financial services industry and strengthen the False Claims Act (FCA), a statute that was originally enacted in 1863 to deter fraud against the government. Under the qui tam provision of the FCA, a whistleblower can bring a lawsuit on [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Federal Whistleblower Legislation
House Passes Amendments to the False Claims Act
May 12th, 2009 · No Comments
Last week, the House passed S.386 (“Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act”) to curb fraud in the financial services industry and to protect taxpayers’ dollars. While the bill focuses primarily on potential fraud and misuse of economic stimulus funds, it also includes significant changes to the provisions of the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”). In particular, the [...]
Tags: False Claims Act · Federal Whistleblower Legislation
Spartan Motors Pays $1.7 Million for False Claims Act Violations
January 2nd, 2009 · No Comments
On December 29, 2008, the Justice Department announced that Spartan Motors and its subsidiary, Spartan Chassis have agreed to pay the United States $1.7 Million to resolve allegations that it paid kickbacks to an employee of Force Protection Inc. In the complaint, the United States alleged that Spartan paid the Force Protection employee approximately $100,000 [...]
Tags: False Claims Act