On Monday, June 17, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced settlements involving $11.3 million in payments for consulting companies failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in federally funded contracts. The head of DOJ’s Civil Division stated, “Federal funding frequently comes with cybersecurity obligations, and contractors and grantees must honor these commitments. The Justice Department
Recent years have seen eye-popping judgments and settlements involving cases brought under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). And healthcare companies have, unsurprisingly, focused their compliance efforts on these and other federal fraud-and-abuse statutes. But a recent decision out of the Second Circuit underlines the importance of incorporating state-level anti-fraud
In 2023, the government and whistleblowers were party to 543 False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments, the highest number of FCA settlements and judgments in a single year. As a result, collections under the FCA exceeded $2.68 billion, confirming that the FCA remains one of the government’s most important tools to root out fraud
On February 22, 2024, Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton delivered remarks at the 2024 Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Conference. During those remarks, Boynton announced another record year for DOJ’s False Claims Act enforcement efforts. Specifically, Boynton announced, in 2023 alone, nearly $2.7 billion was recovered under the FCA and included the resolution of
Significant work goes into settling a False Claims Act action. Defendants may spend months negotiating with the government to reach an agreeable settlement — often even longer if the defendant pursues the arduous ability-to-pay financial analysis process. But what happens when you reach the end of this process and the relator objects to the agreed-upon
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed judgment against relators in a case alleging that a group of dairy farmers growing corn violated the False Claims Act by filing false insurance claims paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. In doing so, it held that a falsity in an insurance application does not constitute
The District of Massachusetts has joined the growing chorus of courts that have applied a heightened causation standard in False Claims Act (FCA) cases predicated on the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS).
U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor recently ruled that the government must show a “but for” causal connection between an AKS violation and an allegedly
Bradley’s Cybersecurity and Privacy team keeps a close eye on litigation involving cybersecurity deficiencies, and recent settlements flagged by the team as noteworthy demonstrate ways the False Claims Act can be used by the government to force companies into a new technological era. Check out this blog post by members of the Government Enforcement and
The First Circuit will decide the causation standard required in False Claims Act (FCA) cases predicated on the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), deepening a circuit split on the issue and potentially teeing up Supreme Court intervention.
U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton asked the First Circuit to review his recent ruling that the government need not prove
On August 25, 2023, the Third Circuit continued its trend of rulings unfavorable to FCA healthcare defendants in the latest appeal of U.S. ex rel. Druding et al. v. Care Alternatives et al., No. 22-1035, 2023 WL 5494333 (3d Cir. 2023), holding that medical record-keeping issues and documentation errors may be material under the