LOURIE, CHANCE, FORLINES, CARTER & KING, PC INJURY LAW BLOG

Blowing the whistle on wrongdoing is an act of bravery – both because it requires speaking out and because it places the whistleblower in a vulnerable position for retaliation. Retaliating against a whistleblower is illegal. In many cases, so too is the behavior being reported. This is not reassuring. Especially when the actions being reported may involve supervisors or those in a position to harm you and your family financially.

… Continue reading CAN WHISTLEBLOWERS REMAIN ANONYMOUS?Read More

If you have witnessed fraudulent activity that involved your company or corporation defrauding the government, you may want to choose to be a whistleblower and reveal this fraud to an attorney and the government. Whistleblowers are protected under the Federal Claims Act and can receive a percentage of a cash award or settlement should the case go agains the fraudulent company. Please view this infographic for more information:

If you… Continue reading INFOGRAPHIC – SHOULD YOU BE A WHISTLEBLOWER?Read More

Because of the federal government’s size and the amount of money it can bring to bear on certain problems, it is a tempting target for fraudsters. The False Claims Act, initially passed during the Civil War, imposes financial penalties on companies that defraud federal programs.

It is the government’s chief weapon against fraudsters, and it is also the chief way by which whistleblowers protect taxpayer money. Our Atlanta qui tam lawyers are… Continue reading WHAT IS THE FALSE CLAIMS ACT?Read More

A study found that doctors commonly prescribe medications for off-label use, but almost never inform their patients of the fact. Using medications in this manner would not meet with approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All drugs that reach the market have gone through clinical trials in order to determine their efficacy and safety in their intended purpose. Once the FDA feels the medication has met all… Continue reading QUI TAM (WHISTLEBLOWER) ACTIONS ARCHIVESRead More

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been running a new bounty program for about a year, promising cash pay outs to those who submit valid tips against fraudulent business practices. Those that alert the SEC – whistleblowers – could make hundreds of thousands of dollars for alerting the SEC of wrongdoing.

The new bounty program is helping the SEC to redeem itself after the 2008 financial crisis and for… Continue reading BOUNTY PROGRAM BRINGS INFORMERS OF FRAUD OUT OF THE WOODWORKRead More

The number of whistleblower cases against large corporations is on the rise. The Justice Department has collected over $8 billion in these types of cases over the past three years. Some experts expect the number of civil fraud cases and the related settlements to more than double in the next year

Establishing an exact dollar figure for these cases is challenging, but in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the Justice Department… Continue reading WHISTLEBLOWER CASES ON THE RISERead More

Many may believe that they can fly under the radar when scamming the government, thinking that the amount that they take is so small that it will go unnoticed. The government, however, has other ideas and takes schemes to defraud the American taxpayers very seriously. Several medical professionals recently learned just how serious the government protects taxpayer money.

In an effort to crack down on Medicare fraud, the Medicare Fraud Strike… Continue reading GOVERNMENT ARRESTS 111 PEOPLE IN MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEMESRead More

Implanting Defective Cardiac Devices Compromised Patient Safety, Says DOJ

Thanks to yet another qui tam action under the False Claims Act, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is working to recoup federal dollars from a medical device manufacturer for implanting defective devices in Medicare patients.

A recipient of one of the defective devices sued Guidant and Boston Scientific (who bought Guidant in 2006) in a whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2008. The complaint alleges that… Continue reading QUI TAM ACTION OPENS DOOR FOR U.S. TO SUE MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURER FOR SUBMITTING FRAUDULENT MEDICARE CLAIMSRead More

Over three billion dollars in stolen money was recovered by the U.S. Department of Justice in fiscal year 2010 – stolen money that was tracked down thanks to whistleblowers.

According to the advocacy group Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, more than 80 percent of all successful recoveries under the False Claims Act are due to whistleblower reports. The False Claims Act allows third parties, or whistleblowers, to sue contractors suspected of… Continue reading FALSE CLAIMS ACT RECOVERS $3.1 BILLION IN 2010 FROM HEALTH CARE AND DRUG INDUSTRIESRead More