One avenue for whistleblowers to take to report fraud against the government is to file a qui tam lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act. These lawsuits are complex because they have not two, but three parties to them –...more
In October 2021, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, led by the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, to enhance its ongoing efforts to address cybersecurity threats. The initiative...more
DOJ launches new initiative that promises to use the False Claims Act to combat cybersecurity threats by targeting government contractors who knowingly fail to comply with cybersecurity protocols. The Civil Cyber-Fraud...more
The False Claims Act (“FCA”), especially its qui tam component, has repeatedly proven to be the most effective weapon the federal government can employ to recover payments private citizens and entities fraudulently obtain. ...more
Nearly one year ago, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic downturn, the Small Business Administration-backed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provided loans to help businesses keep their workforce...more
Report on Research Compliance 17, no. 10 (September 24, 2020) What the federal government—and a whistleblower—allege were False Claims Act (FCA) violations actually resulted from an “accounting discrepancy,” according to the...more
Report on Research Compliance 17, no. 6 (June 2020) - A former assistant veterinary medicine professor at the University of Maryland will retract or correct seven papers published from 2013 to 2016 that contained reused or...more
Report on Research Compliance 17, no. 3 (February 20, 2020) - Despite its earlier agreement to repay just $5,442 in costs questioned by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Inspector General, the University of...more
Colleges and universities receive billions of dollars in federal funds, whether through research grants or student financial aid, or even by billing Medicare or Medicaid for services rendered at academic medical centers. As a...more
The FCA began as a response to procurement fraud by military contractors during the Civil War. In the intervening years, its reach has extended and increasingly the government is using the FCA as a tool in the context of...more