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We are attorneys that investigate False Claims Act cases nationwide, including in the state of New Jersey for Medicare fraud, tax fraud, contractor fraud and more against a range of employers including healthcare providers, medical device companies, defense contractors, and pharmaceutical companies. We stand ready to provide a free case evaluation to you; please call us today.
FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASES IN THE NEWS
As False Claims Act attorneys, and especially attorneys who represent tax evasion whistleblowing cases, we are pleased to report the IRS has unveiled a $104 Million Dollar settlement against UBS bank.
The AP (9/12) reports that the IRS has “awarded an ex-banker $104 million for providing information about overseas tax cheats – the largest amount ever awarded by the agency.” Bradley Birkenfeld exposed widespread tax evasion at UBS AG in a case that resulted in a $780 million fine and “an unprecedented agreement requiring UBS to turn over thousands of names of suspected American tax dodgers to the IRS.” IRS spokeswoman Michele Eldridge said in an email, “The IRS believes that the whistleblower statute provides a valuable tool to combat tax non-compliance, and this award reflects our commitment to the law.” In a summary of the award, the IRS said, “The comprehensive information provided by the whistleblower was exceptional in both its breadth and depth.”
Bloomberg News (9/12, Schoenberg, Voreacos) reports that the case “led to an erosion of the use of Swiss bank secrecy by wealthy Americans to cheat the IRS. At least 11 banks are under criminal investigation in the U.S. Two dozen offshore bankers, lawyers and advisers, as well as 50 American taxpayers, have been charged with crimes.” Stephen Kohn, one of Birkenfeld’s lawyers, said, “Today the IRS sent a message to every American taxpayer who still has an illegal offshore account. Turn yourself in while there is still an amnesty program. Turn yourself in before your banker does.” In a statement confirming the award, the IRS said, “The whistle-blower statute provides a valuable tool to combat tax non-compliance, and this award reflects our commitment to the law.”
The New York Times (9/12, Kocieniewski, Subscription Publication) reports that the award is “also a milestone for the agency’s whistle-blower program, which offers informants rewards of up to 30 percent of any fines and unpaid taxes recouped by the government.”
The Wall Street Journal (9/12, Saunders, Sidel, Subscription Publication) reports that Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), who sponsored the law, said, “The IRS encourages courageous actions. An award of $104 million is obviously a great deal of money, but billions of dollars in taxes owed will be collected that otherwise would not have been paid as a result of the whistleblower information.”
The Financial Times (9/12, Scannell, Subscription Publication) also quotes the IRS as saying, “The comprehensive information provided by the whistleblower was exceptional in both its breadth and depth. While the IRS was aware of tax compliance issues related to secret bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere, the information provided by the whistleblower formed the basis for unprecedented actions against UBS.”
The Washington Post (9/12, Elboghdady) and the Fiscal Times (9/12, Ehley) also reported on the story.
If you would like more information on False Claims Act cases, please continue reading as we will accept nationwide case evaluations for cases similar to the Gallup case.
THE SCOPE OF FRAUD
Amazingly, some estimates have suggested that approximately 10% of the entire annual United States budget is lost to companies or individuals who are defrauding the government. The United States Federal budget for 2010 was $3.456 billion, meaning around $345.6 million was wrongfully wasted on fraud.
The entities defrauding the government do so in a variety of ways: Medicare or Medicaid fraud whereby they bill the government for services which they never provided or overbill for services that were provided; SEC Trading; Tax Fraud; TARP Fraud; Military/Defense contract fraud; Pharmaceutical Manufacturing;contract fraud involving any number of large government spending programs; or other types public benefit fraud.
HELPING THE PUBLIC.
As a whistleblower attorney, we are interested in speaking with persons willing to make known the truth about company practices and are willing to file a qui tam or whistleblower action. One area in particular we are interested in discussing are lawsuits involving medical device companies where the company is alleged to have overcharged, engaged in kickback programs, and the like. We will nevertheless investigate claims in a variety of areas.
Workers and persons all across the country witness actions at their work that may be unlawful or even corrupt. Unfortunately, some employees and workers feel that they will be fired, terminated, harrassed or punished if they report an unlawful or corrupt action. These reporters, however, are protected by the law as a Whistleblower and can receive compensation because of the False Claims Act or the Medicaid False Claims Act. If you have reported actions that may be fraudulent, then you should talk to a Whistleblower or qui tam lawyer about your facts.
Whistleblowers help the government to get back billions of dollars each year with the help of the False Claims Act. In fact, fraudulent Medicaid claims are also caught by whistleblowers having the Medicaid False Claims Act on their side. If you report a false claim or fraudulent action to the government, then the government will give you, the whistleblower, a part of the money that gets recovered. This is because of qui tam requirements. Qui Tam means that a person files a lawsuit for the king and also for him or herself. The phrase is qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, or, “he who sues for the king as well for himself.”
These requirements and lawsuits were made popular during the Civil War when many people were getting away with fraudulent actions against the government. In 1986, the False Claims Act was amended to raise the total compensation given to people who reported fraudulent actions, or whistleblowers. If a whistleblower works with a lawyer then it may be possible for them to get three times the amount the government would get in damages and also get additional compensation for general fines.
TYPES OF CASES
The most common situations that could form the basis of a Qui Tam action include:
- Submitting a false or fraudulent record, bill or statement to the government in order to fraudulently obtain money such as reporting a medical service that was never performed for Medicare or Medicad;
- Conspiring with a third party to submit or present have a false or fraudulent claim to the government;
- Withholding property of the government with the intent to defraud or conceal the property from the government;
- Fraudulently buying property of the government from someone not authorized to sell that property; and
- Making a false statement to fraudulently avoid paying money to the government or to avoid delivering property to the government.
THE PROCESS
We will meet with you and thoroughly investigate your case. As we mentioned, we will travel to see you, as we want to meet with you in person and review all documents you may have to support your case. We will then investigate on our own and prepare a complaint for filing in federal court. The case will be filed under seal, and served on the U.S. Attorney’s Office along with a Declaration of Evidence that is not filed but also served on the Government.
Once the case is filed, a United States Attorney investigates the lawsuit and underlying allegations of fraud for an initial period of 60 days. If after investigating the claim the U.S. Attorney believes the allegations of fraud are meritorious, the United States Government takes over the case and either enters into a settlement or continues the lawsuit against the wrongdoer. The Relator would then be entitled to a portion of the recovery despite the fact that the government has taken over the case.
The amount that the Relator would be entitled to receive would be approximately 15 percent to 25 percent of the decision. It is estimated that the government intervenes and takes over a case approximately 30 percent of the time.
FOR HELP, PLEASE CONTACT US.
We help whistleblowers on a contingency basis, meaning there is no fee charged for our work unless there is a recovery. We also front any and all expenses. No matter where you are located — we will represent you. We will come to you, you will not have to come to us.
Attorneys in our firm and attorneys that we work with on Whistleblower, Qui Tam, False Claims Act cases have represented a host of persons making claims, for violations of federal tax law, Medicare law and more.
For more information, please contact our team of whitsleblower and qui tam attorneys today at 1-800-632-1404 or fill out this form below for a free initial consultation.