(Published in Times Union)
Here is an idea for Albany. It would significantly strengthen the State's efforts to combat fraud, inject the State with tens of millions of dollars a year in added revenue, and most importantly, better protect the health and welfare of all New Yorkers. All it would entail is expanding New York's whistleblower rewards regime to include individuals exposing insurance fraud.
New York...
Whistleblowing As a Civic Duty: Now Is the Time To Act
Posted 10/23/20
With voting in the 2020 election underway and the presidential debates behind us, now is a good time to reflect on the importance of civic duties to the preservation of American democracy. Voting, paying taxes, serving on a jury, and registering with selective service are all examples of such duties—responsibilities which, if ignored or unfulfilled by enough individuals, will cause the institutional fabric holding...
(Guest Essay Published in the Dominion Post)
As the saying goes, Mountaineers are always free in West Virginia. Unfortunately, the cost of fraud is not. And as evidenced by the eye-popping $50 million fraud settlement the federal government just secured from Wheeling Hospital, there is a lot of fraud going around these days. The problem for the Mountain State is it does not have the proper tools to deal with...
NASAA Approves Model Whistleblower Award and Protection Act with Changes Recommended by Constantine Cannon Attorneys
Posted 10/2/20
Earlier this year, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) proposed a Model Whistleblower Award and Protection Act that would help states bolster their securities enforcement by incentivizing whistleblowers. Constantine Cannon attorneys Eric Havian, Michael Ronickher, and Chris McLamb teamed up with Alexis Ronickher of Katz Marshall & Banks LLP to comment on the proposal, encouraging NASAA...
Putting a Stop to Illegal Imports from Forced Uyghur Labor
Posted 09/18/20
The world has watched in horror as, starting in 2018, up to two million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been arrested, relocated, or otherwise forced into internment centers in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. The government of the People’s Republic of China has separated thousands of Uyghur children from parents, forced methods of control on women, and inflicted physical and psychological...
Earlier this week, the SEC announced an award of more than $10 million "to a whistleblower whose information and assistance were of crucial importance to a successful SEC enforcement action." This brings the total tally under the SEC's Whistleblower Program to $520 million in awards to 94 whistleblowers since the first award in 2012.
It also marks the latest in a flood of awards this year, including the $50...
Partner Mary Inman discusses whistleblowing, blackballing and the role of compliance in ComplianceLine webinar "Whistleblowing: Defending the Accuser and the Accused"
Top Takeaways from Former DOJ Civil Chief Jody Hunt on the Current State of False Claims Act Enforcement
Posted 08/28/20
Law360 recently interviewed former DOJ Civil Chief Jody Hunt on what he sees as the key issues surrounding False Claims Act enforcement these days. Here are the top takeaways:
COVID-relief fraud will be a DOJ priority. No surprise there given the billions of dollars the federal government is pouring into the economy to alleviate some of the financial strain the pandemic is wreaking on healthcare providers...
Windfall to Health Insurers Due to COVID-19 Is Not Yet Resulting in Resolution of FCA Risk Adjustment Cases
Posted 08/21/20
As health insurers book record profits during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a dramatic decline in elective surgeries and procedures, this seems like a good time to ask about the status of False Claims Act litigation against Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) relating to risk adjustment fraud. Given the dire shortfall in state and federal money to fight the pandemic, when will MAOs begin paying back the billions...