Whistleblower / False Claims Act

We represent courageous individuals who report fraud against the government. As you would expect, fraud against the government can arise in a wide 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 the it does not receive what it was bargaining 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 (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The practice is led by Gary L. Azorsky who has recovered nearly $2.5 billion in defrauded funds for federal and state governments, including hundreds of millions of dollars for whistleblower clients. 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.

The types of fraud that can give rise to false claims liability are many. We represent those blowing the whistle on:

• Securities & Investment Fraud
• Health Care Fraud
• Government Contractor/ Procurement Fraud
• Motor Vehicle Safety Fraud
• Tax Fraud

Our nation’s whistleblower laws embody the wisdom that ordinary Americans are oftentimes best positioned to monitor and report on fraud.

If you are interested in discussing potential fraud on the government you have witnessed, please contact us at whistleblower@cohenmilstein.com for a free, confidential interview.

Our Cases 

Over the past three decades, we have successfully represented whistleblowers in dozens of significant and innovative whistleblower cases arising under the federal and state false claims act statutes in addition to the SEC, CFTC, IRS, and Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower programs.    

Our results include some of the largest and most significant whistleblower/False Claims Act recoveries on record, including:

• United States of America et al., ex rel. Lauren Kieff, v. Wyeth (D. Mass.) – With our client, we worked alongside Department of Justice attorneys and states Attorneys General throughout the 12-year pendency of this case, which resulted in a $784.6 million settlement – the seventh-largest False Claims Act recovery on record in the United States and the second-largest recovery in history involving a single class of drugs.
• Ven-A-Care Whistleblower Litigation – We represented Ven-A-Care for the Florida Keys, Inc. in eight whistleblower cases which pertained to the inflated reimbursement amounts drug companies were causing Medicare and Medicaid to pay for prescription drugs by reporting inflated wholesale prices to the government. These large, highly-successful groundbreaking cases helped pave the way for a wide range of subsequent False Claims Act cases in the realm of health care and focused on pharmaceutical manufacturers in particular. They ultimately gave rise to  over $675 million in total recoveries.

In every case, we are humbled by and honored to represent such principled clients - clients who recognize that defrauding the government harms all Americans, and who, when confronted with fraud, have chosen to inform and assist the government in stopping it.

Confidentiality

Your confidentiality is of paramount concern throughout our initial consultation, investigation and any litigation. 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 from the government, 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.

Our Approach

The best cases are built on the facts, the law, and with teamwork and creative thinking.

We pursue a whistleblower’s case with the utmost care, confidentiality, and efficiency – from the first interview, through the preparation of the complaint and submission of supporting documentation to the government, to the presentation of your case to the government, to litigating a whistleblower case to a successful conclusion. 

We recognize that developing a close, productive working relationship with the whistleblower, one in which there is trust and an open and full exchange of information and ideas, is essential  to assembling the most compelling case possible. Our clients know they are a critical member of the team. We make it a priority to be accessible and responsive and we do all we can to make the experience of serving as a whistleblower a positive and rewarding one.

Through the years, our team has developed positive, collaborative relationships with attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C., U.S. Attorney General offices and state attorneys general offices across the country. These relationships can prove invaluable when seeking to ensure that our clients’ cases receive the attention they deserve.  

For more information on how we file claims under the False Claims Act Whistleblower Statute, please click here.

If you are interested in discussing potential fraud on the government that you may have witnessed, please contact us at information@cohenmilstein.com for a free, confidential interview.