All posts by cfinertystelzner

When businesses and individuals defraud the government, they do it to make money. Because fraud by its nature involves deceit, it is hard to detect. Fraudsters often believe the risk of getting caught (ever) is relatively low, while the amount to be immediately gained is high. To counteract this rationale and successfully deter fraud, the price of getting caught must significantly outweigh the potential upside. This commonsense principle is embedded in the federal False Claims Act, which provides (with limited exception) that violators must pay three times the damages the Government sustains because of the fraud, plus penalties. As courts have recognized, this... read more

On March 27, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Gamma Healthcare, Inc, a clinical laboratory headquartered in Missouri, had agreed to pay $13.6 million for submitting claims to Medicare for laboratory tests that were not medically necessary or ordered by physicians. The DOJ alleges that Gamma automatically performed an additional, expensive PCR urinalysis test – costing $573 – every time a physician ordered a simple urinalysis, for which Medicare pays $11. The requisition form was structured so that physicians could not opt out of the more expensive test. The whistleblower in the qui tam case that led to... read more

On March 7, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced plans for a new whistleblower program that will provide financial awards to those who uncover corporate and financial misconduct in a wide range of fields.  The program is expected to commence in mid-2024. Under current law, the Justice Department already has authority to pay awards for information or assistance that leads to civil or criminal forfeitures, but the Department has paid such awards only occasionally.  Now the Department plans to expand its use of that authority to fill gaps in the whistleblower programs operated by other agencies — including the... read more

Getnick Law attorneys devote significant time to professional activities aimed at improving the legal profession and the law in order to promote the public good.  On February 5, 2024, Getnick Law Partner Margaret Finerty presented Resolution 603 to the American Bar Association House of Delegates at its Midyear meeting in Louisville, Kentucky that urged the passage in Congress of the Disarm Hate Act. The Disarm Hate Act (H.R. 5435/S. 2776, 118th Cong.), introduced into the Senate and the House of Representatives on September 13, 2023, would amend 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(d) and (g) of the Gun Control Act of 1968 to... read more

On February 22, 2024, the Department of Justice announced that it had recovered an impressive $2.68+ billion under the federal False Claims Act in fiscal year 2023, bringing total recoveries under the statute since its overhaul and modernization in 1986 to $75 billion. Of the over $2.68 billion recouped last year, the lion’s share ($2.3 billion, or 86%) came from whistleblower-initiated cases. Whistleblower awards totaled almost $350 million. And these numbers don’t include recoveries under State False Claims Acts, which are often brought in conjunction with federal claims. The Anti-Fraud Coalition whistleblower advocacy group reports that Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney... read more