BOSTON – Earlier this month, United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins hosted a panel discussion on qui tam lawsuits, also known as whistleblower lawsuits. The event highlighted U.S. Attorney Rollins’ commitment to holding accountable those who defraud the government and its taxpayers through civil enforcement actions under the False Claims Act and criminal prosecutions.
The panel, which included Office leadership including the Chief and Deputy Chief of the Rollins Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit and the Chief of the Rollins Criminal Healthcare Fraud Unit, presented to an audience of several dozen lawyers representing whistleblowers. The event was moderated by a representative from Taxpayers Against Fraud, a non-profit public interest organization dedicated to promoting whistleblower litigation.
“Protecting our tax dollars and the public from fraud is essential to our health care, financial and defense contracting systems, but beyond that to the well-being of our democracy. Left unchecked, fraud and corruption are corrosive to public trust in our government,” said US Attorney Rollins. “Every enforcement action brought by my office demonstrates our commitment to ensuring justice and preventing future misconduct. By meeting with stakeholders, we learn about trends and can hear any concerns they have about the office. Being accessible and transparent will lead to more relatives coming to our office and exposing fraud and corruption.”
The District of Massachusetts has long been a national leader in prosecuting health care fraud and collects recoveries in the tens to hundreds of millions each year. So far in 2022, civil False Claims Act recoveries for cases in the District of Massachusetts exceed $250 million for violations that include illegal kickbacks, underpayment of Medicaid reimbursements, failure to license property and supervise mental health staff , billing for unnecessary and inappropriate medical diagnostic tests. self-referrals by doctors (also known as Stark Law violations). Civil False Claims Act work in the District of Massachusetts also includes government defense contracting fraud, grant fraud, customs fraud and fraud involving financial institutions.
In addition, the United States Attorney’s Office is bringing criminal prosecutions related to false claims, illegal kickbacks, health care program fraud, breach of privacy and wire fraud. In recent years, the Office has prosecuted companies and individuals who conspired to defraud federal health insurance programs, evade federal drug safety regulations, market defective and medically unnecessary medical devices and take advantage of vulnerable individuals by prioritizing profits over patient care.
Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can file suits on behalf of the government against companies and individuals who defraud the federal government. If recoveries are paid by the defendants in these qui tam lawsuits, the private citizen (or “relative”) receives a share of those funds. Many fraud investigations and lawsuits stem from qui tam filings.
