Whistleblower
Champions for the courageous
who report fraud.
Our nation’s whistleblower laws embody the wisdom that ordinary Americans are oftentimes best positioned to monitor and report on fraud.
Overview
Whistleblowers can play an important role in exposing illegal activity and holding companies accountable for fraud.
We represent courageous individuals who report fraud against the government. As you would expect, fraud against the government can arise in a range of contexts. It includes defrauding government health care programs, frauds directed at the Department of Defense, and fraudulent government loan applications. Anytime the government has contracted with a company to acquire goods or services and then it does not receive what it bargained for, the possibility of fraud exists. It also includes fraudulent activity related to taxes, securities or commodities, and safety-related motor vehicle defects.
We pursue whistleblower claims under federal and state false claims acts and other fraud reporting programs including the whistleblower programs of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Internal Revenue Service.
The practice is led by Gary L. Azorsky who has recovered nearly $8 billion in defrauded funds for federal and state governments, including hundreds of millions of dollars for whistleblowers. He is recognized for his knowledge of the False Claims Act, having provided expert guidance on the FCA in congressional hearings and before the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the passage of the FCA for the state.
We co-counsel nationwide.
Confidentiality
Your confidentiality is of paramount concern throughout our initial consultation, investigation and any litigation. Who can become a whistleblower; we represent:
- Private citizens such as physicians, nurses, stockbrokers, program managers, financial analysts, engineers, scientists, medical coders, sales representatives or accountants, who have witnessed their company, or a company whose operations they have reason to know, engage in mis-billing, mis-leading, or mis-stating information in the course of providing goods or services being paid for with government funds.
- Businesses that have learned that their competitors are engaged in fraudulent schemes directed against the government. Sometimes these schemes are intended to give the competitor an unfair advantage in soliciting government business, thus triggering potential overlapping antitrust violations.
If the government intervenes and is able to recover lost revenue or financial damages from the company, you may receive a whistleblower award, ranging from 15% – 30% of any amount recovered. These awards act as an incentive for whistleblowers to step forward and alert the government to fraud.
Current Cases
U.S. ex rel. Pepe M.D. and Sherman, M.D. v. Fresenius Vascular Care, Inc., et al.
In 2022, the federal government and multiple state governments intervened in this qui tam action commenced by Cohen Milstein on behalf of the whistleblowers against Fresenius Vascular Care, Inc. and affiliated defendants, alleging that they violated the federal and state False Claims Acts by performing and billing Medicare and Medicaid for unnecessary surgical procedures that were not covered by these programs, that subjected patients to health risks, and that defrauded the government and taxpayers of many millions of dollars. The action seeks treble damages and civil penalties.
U.S.A. v. Janssen Biotech, Inc.
U.S.A. v. Janssen Biotech, Inc. (D. Mass.): Cohen Milstein represents the plaintiff-relator in a whistleblower/qui tam lawsuit against Janssen Biotech (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), alleging that the manufacturer of the rheumatoid arthritis drugs Remicade and Simponi ARIA violated federal law by engaging in a scheme through which it provided physicians free practice management and infusion business consulting services over an extended period to induce the physicians to purchase Remicade and Simponi ARIA and administer these drugs to patients, including Medicare beneficiaries, via infusions performed in their offices.
Past Cases
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. International Business Machines Corp.
On or about June 29, 2006, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and Industry and IBM entered into Contract No. RFP UC 2005-1, for services related to the modernization of the unemployment compensation delivery system in the Commonwealth (the “Contract”), in a project known as the Unemployment Compensation Modernization System (“UCMS”). DLI allowed the […]
U.S.A., State of Maryland ex rel. J. Doe v. Shore Health System, Inc.
On July 16, 2021 the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and the State of Maryland reached a nearly $9.5 million settlement with Shore Health System, Inc. to resolve False Claims Act allegations filed by a whistleblower. Shore Health, a subsidiary of the University of Maryland Medical System that operates two hospitals and several non-hospital outpatient centers located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, was alleged to have overcharged the Medicare and Maryland Medicaid programs between 2014 and 2018 for services provided to Medicare and dual eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
USA, ex. rel. O’Connor v. National Spine and Pain Centers, LLC
United States ex rel. O’Connor v. National Spine and Pain Centers, LLC: A qui tam action alleging that pain management practices defrauded the government health care programs by billing for services furnished by physician assistants and nurse practitioners as “incident to” a physician’s service when the services did not qualify as such, and referring patients for unnecessary drug tests. The United States intervened in and settled this action for approximately $3.3 million.