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Author: John Marti

With over 18 years of experience as a federal white collar prosecutor and Department of Justice leader, and over 20 years of leadership experience as a Marine Corps Officer, John has a sophisticated and deep understanding of government agencies and investigations and extensive experience leading through crises.

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COVID-19 / PPP Loans / Settlements

14 Jan, 2021

Borrowers and Banks Beware: The New Year Brings the Nation’s First False Claims Act Settlement for Paycheck Protection Program Fraud

On January 12, 2021, the Eastern District of California entered into a civil settlement with a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) borrower and its CEO to resolve allegations of fraud.  The settlement stemmed from a $350,000 PPP loan that SlideBelts Inc., an internet retail company, received even though it was a prohibited borrower as a debtor in bankruptcy.  This is the first civil settlement for PPP-related...

COVID-19 / Enforcement

14 Apr, 2020

Looking Ahead: Enforcement Actions for Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Related to COVID-19

As the public health and economic responses to COVID-19 dominate the headlines and traditional government enforcement actions slow, anticipate a significant increase in government enforcement actions, internal investigations related to corporate fraud, and qui tam (whistleblower) actions in the coming months.  The CARES Act contains appropriations for tens of millions of dollars for agency inspector general enforcement.  Leaders in federal law enforcement are telling us...

Enforcement / Healthcare / Implied Certification / Insurance Coverage

14 Feb, 2019

DOJ Levels False Claims Act at Pharmacies to Combat Opioid Crisis

This month the Department of Justice brought a “first of its kind” action against two pharmacies, their owner, and three pharmacists for allegedly dispensing and billing Medicare for prescriptions in violation of both the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).  See United States v. Oakley Pharmacy, Inc., et al., No. 2:19-cv-00009 (M.D. Tenn).  The action, seeking both injunctive relief and civil...

Enforcement / Healthcare / Settlements

14 Jan, 2019

For FY2018, Justice Department Touts Nearly $3 Billion in False Claims Act Recoveries, Mostly From Qui Tams and Alleged Healthcare Frauds

The Justice Department announced in a recent press release that it obtained more than $2.8 billion in settlements and judgments from cases involving fraud and false claims against the government. The vast majority of this amount—$2.1 billion—came from lawsuits filed by whistleblowers, or “relators” suing on behalf of the government, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claim Act (“FCA”). Included in the qui...

False Statement / Implied Certification / Relators

31 Jan, 2018

Two Recent Justice Department Memoranda May Have Significant Consequences for Pending and Future False Claims Act Enforcement

In recent weeks, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued two memoranda that might change the calculus of False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases.  The memoranda at a minimum provide organizations with new—or at least invigorated—defenses to qui tam actions and civil enforcement matters. First, on January 10, Michael Granston, Director of DOJ’s Civil Frauds section, issued a memorandum encouraging DOJ trial attorneys to consider dismissing...

Penalties

6 Jul, 2016

Federal Civil Penalties Going Up, Way Up.

The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published an Interim Final Rule on June 30th nearly doubling the per-claim civil penalties for violations of a number of laws, including the False Claims Act (FCA), the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, and the Anti-Kickback Act.  For example, the FCA provides for mandatory per-claim penalties on top of treble damages.  Currently, the FCA penalties are set at...

Overpayments

16 Feb, 2016

CMS Finalizes Rule Requiring Healthcare Providers to Return Overpayments

Late last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its final rule regulating how healthcare providers must report and return overpayments. This rule implements the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that healthcare providers who receive an overpayment from Medicare return the overpayment within 60 days of its identification. Overpayments not returned within the 60-day limit become “obligations” to the Federal government within the...