Archive

Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries for 2023

Posted 01/30/24

People Pointing to Contracts Making Decision

It was another big year for DOJ enforcement under the False Claims Act, the government's primary fraud-fighting tool. As usual, most of the recoveries were in the healthcare space with seven of the Top Ten recoveries involving various schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid. See our Top Ten FCA and Top Ten Healthcare FCA listings. While healthcare recoveries dominated the Top Ten, two of the top five...

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, Education Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Top 10,

Donor and Legacy Admissions Policies at Undergraduate Institutions Face Scrutiny

Posted 08/2/23

The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (DOE-OCR) has opened an investigation of Harvard College’s undergraduate donor and legacy admissions practices for discrimination based on race, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program that receives federal financial assistance from DOE, and Harvard is a...

Tagged in: Education Fraud,

Thomas Jefferson University Pays $2.7 Million to Settle Student Loan Fraud Allegations

Posted 07/28/23

Thomas Jefferson University has agreed to pay $2.7 million to settle allegations concerning the misuse and improper retention of "primary care" student financial aid loans. Education fraud encompasses traditional financial aid programs as well as specialty loan programs like the Primary Care Loan program at issue here. Congress established the Primary Care Loan program to address the nation’s shortage of primary...

Tagged in: Education Fraud, Government Programs Fraud,

Expanded Connecticut State False Claims Act is Win for Whistleblowers

Posted 07/7/23

Front View of Hartford Connecticut Capitol Building

Whistleblowers take note: the Connecticut State False Claims Act (CT FCA) has been significantly expanded beyond healthcare fraud claims. Historically, the CT FCA was limited to fraud on Medicaid and other programs within health and human services. The amended statute now reaches fraud across a variety of sectors, such as government contracting, education, employment, immigration, housing, mortgage and insurance...

Tagged in: Education Fraud, FCA State, Government Programs Fraud, Housing and Mortgage Fraud,

Top Ten Financial and Healthcare Fraud Prison Sentences of 2021

Posted 01/28/22

Individuals involved in financial and healthcare fraud schemes face not just civil liability, but also criminal penalties – including prison time. In 2021, the Department of Justice obtained substantial prison sentences in a myriad of cases involving healthcare and financial frauds, many of which involved convictions of the type of fraudulent schemes that whistleblowers report. Whistleblowers play an essential role...

Tagged in: Compounding Pharmacy Fraud, COVID-19, Criminal Proceedings, Education Fraud, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Home Health and Hospice, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicare, Money Laundering, Ponzi Schemes, Securities Fraud, Top 10,

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2020

Posted 01/14/21

The U.S. government has many enforcement options for financial and investment fraud, including those that provide for whistleblower rewards such as the SEC Whistleblower Program, the CFTC Whistleblower Program, and the IRS Whistleblower Program. These programs, along with a new one under the Anti-Money-Laundering Act of 2020, are open for business and promise to pay millions of dollars in whistleblower awards in...

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Customs Fraud, Education Fraud, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, FIRREA, Government Loan Programs, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Top 10,

De Vos’s Education Department Quietly Granted For-Profit Mogul's Colleges Non-Profit Status, Reversing Obama Administration’s Decision

Posted 05/4/20

In the wake of scandals surrounding the for-profit college model, some institutions—and their executives—have sought to transition to non-profits. These conversions pose the concrete risk that taxpayers will be left subsidizing institutions trying to skirt federal regulations meant to protect students. As a result, the Obama Administration scrutinized them carefully, particularly where the rebranded non-profit...

Tagged in: Education Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Programs Fraud, Grant and Research Fraud,

Whistleblower Suit Revived by Third Circuit Despite Settlement in Related State Court Action

Posted 08/13/19

Judge's bench with empty chair and gavel

In United States ex rel. Jean Charte v. American Tutor, Inc., the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed dismissal of a whistleblower’s qui tam action under the False Claims Act, giving the whistleblower the right to pursue her claims. The district court had dismissed the action under state law res judicata principals, because the relator had settled a defamation action brought in state court against her by...

Tagged in: Confidentiality and The Seal, Court Decision, Education Fraud, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Decision, Whistleblower Case,

Whistleblowers Needed to Stop Secret Kickbacks, Bribes, Overcharging, and False Costs in E-Rate, Lifeline, Connect America, and Rural Healthcare programs

Posted 06/7/19

Large broadband cable bales awaiting installation on rural road.

The FCC disburses billions of dollars every year for its massive Universal Service Fund (USF) and its laudable mission to promote telephone and internet access to all U.S. persons regardless of income and location. This massive pot of government money attracts a commensurate measure of opportunists seeking to defraud these well-meaning programs.

What is the Universal Service Fund?

The Universal Service Fund...

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Contract Non-Compliance, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, Education Fraud, Falsifying Invoices, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Pricing Fraud,

WATCH THIS SPACE: Proposed $700M Fix for Installed Foreign-Telecom Could Compound Fraud Related to Universal-Service-Fund Projects

Posted 05/31/19

Hand touching lock icon on modern digital screen interface stating “hacking detected” and “security breach”

Congress, the President, and the FCC are moving to restrict and phase out foreign-made telecommunications components seen as national security risks. While the president’s executive order of May 15, 2019 prohibits U.S. companies from buying foreign telecom, we have a huge problem: our systems already have large quantities of this equipment installed – antennas, radios, electronics, routers, services, etc. The...

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Contract Non-Compliance, Education Fraud, Falsifying Invoices, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Pricing Fraud,

Contact

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries for 2023

Donor and Legacy Admissions Policies at Undergraduate Institutions Face Scrutiny

Thomas Jefferson University Pays $2.7 Million to Settle Student Loan Fraud Allegations

Expanded Connecticut State False Claims Act is Win for Whistleblowers

Top Ten Financial and Healthcare Fraud Prison Sentences of 2021

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2020

De Vos’s Education Department Quietly Granted For-Profit Mogul's Colleges Non-Profit Status, Reversing Obama Administration’s Decision

Whistleblower Suit Revived by Third Circuit Despite Settlement in Related State Court Action

Whistleblowers Needed to Stop Secret Kickbacks, Bribes, Overcharging, and False Costs in E-Rate, Lifeline, Connect America, and Rural Healthcare programs

What is the Universal Service Fund?

WATCH THIS SPACE: Proposed $700M Fix for Installed Foreign-Telecom Could Compound Fraud Related to Universal-Service-Fund Projects

Newsletter

Subscribe to receive email updates from the Constantine Cannon blogs

Sign up for: