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Government Programs Fraud

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to fraud in government programs. You may also be interested in the following pages:

Fraud in Government Programs
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DOJ Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Credits Whistleblowers, Identifies 2024 Priorities

Posted  02/27/24
Department of Justice Seal Logo
DOJ Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton recently spoke at the 2024 Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Conference.  Here are a few key takeaways from his remarks, which can be found here.
  1. Crediting Whistleblowers. Boynton lauded whistleblowers, calling them “a critical source of [DOJ’s] enforcement efforts,” and he thanked them and their counsel for their efforts, adding that the DOJ...

New York Doctor Indicted for $20.7 Million in Medicare Fraud and Kickback Scheme

Posted  02/23/24
doctor with dollars

On February 21, 2024, a federal grand jury in New Jersey indicted Dr. Alexander Baldonado, of Queens, New York, for his alleged involvement in a complex health care fraud and illegal kickback scheme. According to the DOJ press release, this scheme involved the submission of over $20.7 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, primarily for medically unnecessary genetic cancer screening and Covid-19...

FTC: Consumers Lost Over $10 Billion to Fraudsters in 2023

Posted  02/22/24
Federal Trade Commission building
The Federal Trade Commission released its consumer-reported fraud data for 2023, showing consumer losses rocketed to a new high--over $10 billion, with nearly half of that being lost to investment scams. Deploying the usual targeting methods—email, phone calls, and text messages—fraudsters convinced consumers to dump their cash into fake investment opportunities ($4.6 billion) and imposter scams ($2.7 billion);...

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...

Top Ten False Claims Act Recoveries in 2023

Posted  01/11/24
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-10 involving various schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid. Several of these Top-10 recoveries involved enforcement actions targeting violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law, which prohibit medical...

November 1, 2023

XTO Energy Inc. has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act.  In exchange for producing natural gas on federal and Native American lands, XTO was supposed to put the gas in marketable condition and pay royalties on the value of the gas produced.  However, over an 8 year period, XTO improperly deducted the costs of transporting carbon dioxide.  With this settlement, the Department of Interior has now recovered $25 million from energy companies who similarly withheld required royalties from the government.  DOJ

Catch of the Week: AECOM

Posted  10/30/23
Flooded Traffic Light Sign
Last week's Department of Justice (DOJ) Catch of the Week goes to Dallas-based architecture and engineering firm AECOM.  Last Tuesday (October 24), the company agreed to pay $11.8 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by improperly billing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster assistance funding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster...

October 24, 2023

AECOM, an architecture and engineering firm in Texas, has agreed to pay $11.8 million to resolve allegations of defrauding FEMA and violating the False Claims Act in connection with efforts to rebuild educational facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina.  While serving as a technical assistance contractor for FEMA, AECOM allegedly helped applicants submit fraudulent requests for disaster assistance funds, resulting in some applicants receiving funds in excess of what was permitted.  The misconduct was revealed by whistleblower Robert Romero, who will receive a relator’s share of $2.4 million as part of the settlement.  DOJ

October 11, 2023

Automotive management company Victory Automotive Group Inc. (VAG) has agreed to pay $9 million for allegedly providing false information on a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness application.  In order to be eligible for a PPP loan under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, VAG allegedly falsely certified that it was a small business with fewer than 500 employees, when in fact it and its affiliates cumulatively had over 3,000 employees across the country.  The misconduct was reported by a whistleblower in a qui tam suit; the whistleblower will receive a relator’s share of about $1.63 million.  DOJ

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...
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