In October 6, 2021, the Deputy General for the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a new “Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative” (the “Cyber-Fraud Initiative”) as part of the DOJ’s ongoing efforts to combat new and emerging cyber threats.[i] This Initiative includes the use of the Civil False Claims Act (“FCA”) to target cybersecurity related fraud involving false claims for federal funds and property involving government programs and operations.[ii]
The Cyber-Fraud Initiative and Health Care Providers. The Cyber-Fraud Initiative targets all government contractors and grant recipients who submit false claims involving government programs and operations.[iii] The broad reach of the Cyber-Fraud Initiative includes healthcare providers who submit claims to the federal health care programs in exchange for the provision of health care services to beneficiaries. As a result, although health care providers are already subject to various complex regulatory requirements including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) laws, they are also under the microscope of the DOJ and the onerous FCA laws – referred to as the DOJ’s “primary civil tool to redress false claims.”[iv]
Conduct Targeted by the Cyber-Fraud Initiative. The Cyber-Fraud Initiative has identified three main types of conduct the DOJ is targeting: 1) providers who knowingly provide deficient cybersecurity products or services, 2) providers who knowingly misrepresent cybersecurity...
White House Dinner Shooting Update: False claims spread rapidly online after the White House Correspondents Dinner shooting incident involving 31 year old Cole Tomas Allen within hours, coordinate...