Government, industry and outside counsel convened in New York June 22-23 at ACI’s Advanced Forum on False Claims and Qui Tam Enforcement to discuss recent trends in False Claims Act (FCA) case law and enforcement priorities. The panels addressed several developments of potential interest to health care providers, contractors that certify compliance with government cybersecurity requirements, and private equity firms that invest in and manage government contractors.
First, health care providers will not be surprised to learn that the government obtained its highest-ever total annual recovery from the industry in FY2021 — approximately $5 billion. That may reflect overall growth in FCA recoveries rather than signal the government’s focus on the health care sector in particular, as FY2021 also saw the second-highest total annual FCA recovery by the federal government — with FY2020 taking the top spot. However, the majority of the approximately 200 new FCA investigations opened by the Department of Justice in non-qui tam cases in FY2021 did not involve health care matters and instead focused on other industries.
Second, both relator- and defense-side counsel agree that cybersecurity failures present a new and emerging FCA enforcement risk. The department’s announcement of its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative last fall was intended to serve as a wake-up call to all government contractors that interface with sensitive government information and critical systems, along with private...
WASHINGTON (TNND) — FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with a Democratic lawmaker Tuesday during a Senate subcommittee budget hearing, forcefully denying allegations that he drinks excessively on the...