Category: WHISTLEBLOWERS
Physician Whistleblower Protections: What You Need to Know
As a physician, your primary concern is the health and safety of your patients. Sometimes, this means speaking out when you witness violations of healthcare laws or unethical practices. Unfortunately, the act of reporting such violations can sometimes put your job and career in jeopardy. Fortunately, federal and state laws provide protections for physicians who …
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False Claims Act Whistleblowers Received Rewards Totaling More Than $488 Million in 2022
U.S. Department of Justice’s Annual Report on FCA Settlements and Judgments Illustrates the Substantial Rewards Available to Courageous Whistleblowers. The federal government spends a lot of money every year. It pays billions to contractors and suppliers for goods and services, reimburses billions to health care providers through programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and awards billions in …
Latest in a Long Line of Wells Fargo Scandals Reinforces the Power and Importance of Whistleblowers
Since 2016, banking and financial services giant Wells Fargo has paid more than $6 billion in fines and restitution for a wide range of fraudulent and illegal activities that affected its customers. In December 2022, Wells Fargo added billions more in penalties to its extraordinary record of misconduct. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has …
New Law Offers Greater Rewards for Whistleblowers Who Expose Money Laundering
Few crimes attract as much scrutiny, enforcement efforts and prosecutions by the federal government as money laundering does. And the very nature of money laundering – concealing the source of ill-gotten funds through myriad financial tricks and transactions – makes it one of the more challenging crimes to uncover. That’s why law enforcement often relies …
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Bribery May Be Old School, but Greed Never Goes Out of Style
Whistleblowers who call out bribery of foreign officials can reap significant rewards Never underestimate human creativity when unchecked greed is involved. People who feel unbound by such trifles as ethics, morals, fair play – or the law – will find a way to get what they want. They’ll bend and break the rules in new …
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False Claims Act Whistleblowers Are Critical to Exposing Fraud in Government Grant Programs
Individuals Who Expose Fraud Can Be Handsomely Rewarded for Doing So If you remember the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, you’ll recall that one of the reasons the document was “ordained and established” was to “promote the general Welfare.” One way the federal government does so is by funding billions of dollars in grant programs. …
Bipartisan Bill Would Speed Compensation and Increase Protection For SEC Whistleblowers
The federal government has several whistleblower programs that encourage, protect, and reward individuals for reporting fraudulent or illegal conduct. Few such efforts have been as successful and put more money in whistleblowers’ pockets as has the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) whistleblower program. The SEC reports that since the whistleblower program’s inception, it has awarded …
Why are Pharmaceutical & Medical Kickbacks Prohibited?
The False Claims Act (FCA) is designed to combat and prevent healthcare fraud, including pharmaceutical or medical providers that illegally solicit or accept kickbacks [1]. Persons who become aware of illegal solicitation or acceptance of kickbacks in the healthcare industry can act as a whistleblower on behalf of the government and file an FCA lawsuit. …
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Upcoding and Unbundling are Common Types of Healthcare Fraud
Upcoding and unbundling in healthcare are two forms of improper medical coding. Both fall under the federal government’s definition of healthcare fraud when the government is paying for the care and can be pursued through the False Claims Act. With serious implications that can cause harm to patients, taxpayers, and the American healthcare system as …
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2021 False Claims Act Statistics Continue to Highlight Importance of Whistleblowers
On February 1, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported its False Claims Act (FCA) statistics for fiscal year (FY) 2021. DOJ reported more than $5.6 billion was recovered through the FCA in FY 2021. This is the second largest amount recorded and the largest since 2014. Almost $2.8 billion of the total recovery …