In the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., three justices expressed concern that the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions violate Article II of the Constitution and called for a case presenting that question. Justice Clarence Thomas penned a dissent explaining that private relators wield
On April 17, 2024, the seven-member panel of the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to adopt an amendment prohibiting judges from using acquitted conduct in applying the federal sentencing guidelines. Previously, and consistent with the decision in United States. v. Watts, 519 U.S. 148, 157 (1997) (per curiam) (holding that “a jury’s verdict of acquittal
On July 25, 2023, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), introduced a bill that aims to, among other things, make it easier for the government to satisfy the False Claims Act’s materiality requirement when the government has made payment on a claim the government knows to be false or fraudulent. The bill, titled the “False Claims
The United States Sentencing Commission recently adopted amendments to its Guidelines Manual, and they include some noteworthy changes. The proposed amendments were submitted to Congress on April 27, 2023. Absent Congressional action to the contrary, they will become effective on November 1, 2023.
Of note, the proposed amendments include the addition of Section 4C1.1 –
On Friday, July 21, 2023, DOJ announced it has reached a $377,453,150 settlement with Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (Booz Allen), the parent company of Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., the large government and military contractor that also has commercial and international customers. DOJ alleged that Booz Allen violated the False Claims Act by “improperly billing
In what may lead to the biggest FCA opinion in recent history, the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month agreed to consider two cases addressing the necessary state of mind (i.e., “scienter”) to violate the FCA.
The FCA prohibits defendants from knowingly submitting false claims. That scienter standard is broader than just actual knowledge.
The First Circuit gave defendant AthenaHealth something extra to celebrate this past holiday season when on December 21, 2022, in United States ex rel. Lovell v. AthenaHealth, Inc., it denied relators’ claims for over $1 million in attorneys’ fees in an appeal involving two issues of first impression.
AthenaHealth was a consolidated appeal involving