The United States notified the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia that it plans to intervene in a False Claims Act case filed against Georgia Tech Research Corporation (Georgia Tech) by its Associate Director of Cybersecurity and former Principal Information Security Engineer (the relators). Continue Reading The United States Intervenes in its First False Claims Act Cybersecurity Case

Last month, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council proposed new cybersecurity and incident reporting regulations for federal contractors on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Continue Reading Cyber Incident Reporting May Be “Material” for Federal Contractors

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was intended to provide a fast influx of assistance to small businesses during the economic shock created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The speed with which loans were distributed to businesses nationwide was striking, and so was the speed with which the Department of Justice (DOJ) began prosecuting those abusing the program. Reports of corporations and individuals seeking to take advantage of the PPP prompted a vigorous law enforcement response that has broadened its scope in recent months. As we highlighted last year, the DOJ has taken aggressive action to pursue those who engaged in misconduct involving the PPP and other CARES Act stimulus programs.
Continue Reading PPP Enforcement Actions Gather Steam

As previous False Claims Act (FCA) Fundamentals posts have discussed, the FCA, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq., can be triggered by submitting claims tied to violations of certain federal statutes. This post will explain the basics of two such statutes: the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Stark Law.
Continue Reading False Claims Act Fundamentals: Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law

I was recently interviewed on the Healthcare Strategies podcast about how the Department of Justice (DOJ) is enforcing the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to hold healthcare organizations accountable for cybersecurity matters. The Initiative, launched by DOJ in October 2021, utilizes the False Claims Act (FCA) to take action against entities that knowingly provide insufficient data security measures.
Continue Reading DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative Impact on Healthcare Organizations

The first quarter of 2022 brought news of several noteworthy False Claims Act (FCA) settlements, including several settlements by physicians regarding arrangements deemed to be unlawful kickbacks and the first settlement under the Department of Justice’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative.  This post summarizes key settlements of interest to healthcare providers and government contractors.
Continue Reading False Claims Act Settlements to Know from Q1 2022

As discussed in a previous post, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to utilize one of the strongest tools in its toolbox—the False Claims Act—to hold entities receiving federal dollars accountable where it believes they are failing to meet their cybersecurity obligations.
Continue Reading What Does the DOJ’s New Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative Mean for You?