I was pleased to see that the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019 by an overwhelming majority, 410-12. This bipartisan bill enhances the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower protections and makes clear that employers in the finance industry cannot retaliate against whistleblowers who report security fraud. This law is a direct reaction the U.S. Supreme Court’s horrible 2018 decision, Digital Realty, Inc. v. Somers, which held that only whistleblowers who reported fraud to the Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC enjoyed anti-retaliation protection, not those who report fraud to any number of other available agencies.

Are you considering becoming a whistleblower? You will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney to guide you through the process and to attain your fair share of compensation. Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577 to attain the advice you need.

The U.S. House Attempts to Rewind Digital Realty Case

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Digital Realty decision dramatically narrowed how most people imagined a whistleblower. Traditionally, a whistleblower was thought of as someone who made either internal or external reports of securities fraud to the SEC. However, because of the way Dodd-Frank was written, the statute’s retaliation clause and ant-retaliation provision applied only to those whistleblowers that reported fraud externally and only to the SEC. This is a problem because many whistleblowers in the world of finance first make their reports internally and then may make subsequent reports to law enforcement agencies other than the SEC. As written, Dodd-Frank did not extend whistleblower protections to these individuals.

The changes proposed by the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019 would bring external finance whistleblowers back within Dodd-Frank’s anti-whistleblower clause. In short, if approved by the Senate and signed by President Trump, the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019 will return finance industry whistleblowers to their pre-Digital Realty position. This is good for everyone, as it incentivizes internal whistleblowing, which allows finance companies to change their practices before an SEC investigation. Whistleblowers will still be entitled to a significant percentage of the fraud they reported, if they report it externally to the SEC within 120 days, and will enjoy whistleblower protection for their disclosures.

As an example of the sort of disclosure at issue here the SEC recently made an award of $4.5 million to a finance industry whistleblower who internally reported a kickback scheme was occurring in relation to his work in Brazil. The SEC’s enforcement action resulted in a $30 million recovery for the U.S. government. Attaining this sort of reward will require the help of a skilled whistleblower attorney.

Are You Considering Making a Whistleblower Claim?

Are you a finance industry employee considering filing a whistleblower case? While the reward for submitting a successful claim can be significant, you will only receive this sort of multi-million dollar award with the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. The SEC and U.S. Department of Justice receive thousands of potential whistleblower claims each year, and only those that meet their requirements and are reported in a way that triggers their interest are acted upon. Careful pleading and an organized approach to gathering evidence are critical to this process and will require the help of an experienced whistleblower counsel. Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577.

Experienced Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer Jonathan Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful whistleblower case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call us today.

Anyone who has watched the news over the past few months is aware that two Boeing 737 Max planes have recently crashed, killing 346 people. What has not gotten the same amount of press is that whistleblowers had come forward about safety issues with these planes starting in August 2018. At issue with the Boeing planes are their anti-stall systems, which are allegedly flawed. The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21 Act) provides protections for whistleblowers reporting concerns about air safety issues, specifically including protections against retaliation.

Are you considering becoming an airline industry whistleblower? You will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney who knows the AIR21 Act’s intricacies to file your complaint in a way that results in it being taken seriously and so that it does not result in retaliation against you. Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577 to attain the advice you need.

 The AIR21 Act

The AIR21 Act prohibits retaliation against an employee of a U.S. air carrier, its contractor, or its subcontractor for raising concerns and making a whistleblower claim regarding any law or regulation related to air carrier safety. The AIR Act protects whistleblowers who provide information regarding any alleged violation of federal air carrier safety laws or FAA orders, regulations, or standards. Specifically, the Air Act protects employees who: Disclose a violation of an airline safety regulation to their employer or a federal government entity; Commence a proceeding related to the breach of an airline safety regulation; Testify, assist, or participate in a process related to the violation of an airline safety regulation.

First, it is essential to remember that the AIR21 Act only protects employees of U.S. air carriers, as foreign carriers are not subject to Federal Aviation Administration rules. Second, the Act protects employees from being disciplined, discharged, harassed, threatened, or discriminated against because of their safety allegations. Third, the employee does not have to provide the factual basis underlying the violation they allege but have to enunciate the violation. That means that it is not the employee’s responsibility to investigate or prove up his or her allegation; instead, it is the airline’s responsibility to investigate the complaint once it is made.

What Sort of Damages Can an Airline Employee Receive Under the AIR21 Act?

If you are an employee or contractor for a U.S. air carrier and are retaliated against because of a whistleblower complaint, you are due a wide range of possible compensation, such as all back pay, pay for emotional trauma, compensation for harm done to your reputation, reinstatement in your prior position or an equal amount of pay, and compensation for lost future earnings.

What Should You Do if You are Considering Making a Whistleblower Claim?

As the Boeing 737 Max accidents have shown, there are grave consequences to ignoring complaints from experts within the airline industry. Are you a pilot, executive, or other airline professional considering filing a whistleblower case regarding violations of FAA rules and regulations? You have a right to file your complaint without fear of retribution or retaliation. Careful pleading and an organized approach to gathering evidence are critical to this process and will require the help of an experienced whistleblower counsel. Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577.

Our seasoned Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful whistleblower case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call us today.

If you want to look for fraud, remember the adage, “follow the money.”  If you follow the money in the United States and Mississippi, it will lead you to the health care industry.  Federal programs like Medicare fund much of our current health care system, so any fraud occurring within that industry is a fraud against the federal government. The False Claims Act, signed into law by Abraham Lincoln to prevent fraud against the Union during the Civil War, is a federal law that allows those who report fraud against the federal government to become a “whistleblower” and collect 15% to 30% of whatever funds the government recovers as a result of the resulting prosecution.

If you are aware of fraud relating to the health field or Medicare specifically, you will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney to help you draft your complaint and file it with the U.S. Department of Justice.  They only prosecute the strongest whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act and other federal whistleblower laws. In this blog post, I will cover common aspects of False Claims Act Medicare cases.

Are you considering becoming a whistleblower? You will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney to help you answer questions about taping as well as many others.  Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577 to attain the advice you need.

Common Types of Medicare Fraud

Medicare fraud has exploded in frequency over the past decades.  The most common types of fraud fall into the following categories:

False Billing—in this scam, the medical provider bills Medicare for services that were not provided.  This can be difficult to detect as if the patient is not paying for the service, he or she is unlikely to notice or raise the alarm about one more charge on their bill. These phantom charges add up when the practice is repeated over thousands of patients, costing the federal government millions of dollars each year.

Providing Unnecessary Services—in this scam, the medical provider does provide treatment to the patient, but the procedure is not necessary.  Here, the patient believes that the additional test or treatment is required for their condition, and Medicare pays the bill thinking that the treatment was a bona fide necessity.

Upcoding—in this scam, the medical provider provides a necessary service but charges Medicare for a more expensive version of the treatment than is required by the patient’s needs.

Unnecessary Prescriptions—in this scam, the medical provider prescribes unneeded medications to the patient.  While the medications may not have an adverse effect, the medical provider is reimbursed for them.

You may be aware of this conduct as a medical provider, an employee of a medical provider, or patient. Regardless of your relationship to this conduct, you can become a whistleblower and receive a reward for notifying the federal government of the fraud.

What Should You Do if You are Considering Making a Whistleblower Claim?

Are you aware of the sort of fraudulent conduct described above? Are you considering filing a Medicare-related whistleblower case? The reward for submitting a successful claim can be significant, here half a million dollars, but you will only receive this sort of award with the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. The U.S. Department of Justice gets thousands of potential whistleblower claims each year, and only those that meet their requirements and are reported in a way that triggers their interest are acted upon.  Careful pleading and an organized approach to gathering evidence are critical to this process and will require the help of an experienced whistleblower counsel. Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577.

Experienced whistleblower lawyer Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful whistleblower case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call our Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer now!

This past May, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded $4.5 million to a whistleblower under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower program. While that is a significant whistleblower reward, the large payout isn’t what makes this case unique. This is actually a “feelgood” whistleblower story, where the whistleblower filed his case with the SEC and told his company about the ongoing fraud.  The company performed an internal investigation that confirmed that the whistleblower’s claims were accurate, leading the company to self-report the misconduct. Thus, the whistleblower still received his compensation even though the company did the right thing and also self-reported the fraud. While this case worked out well for the whistleblower, I will highlight some potential pitfalls to this strategy below.

Are you considering becoming a whistleblower? You will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney to help you answer questions and prepare your case.  Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577 to attain the advice you need.

Timing and Dual Reporting Are Critical to Receiving the Reward You Deserve

In this case, the whistleblower both reported wrongdoing internally to his company and reported the same conduct to the SEC within 120 days.  As I mentioned above, the company then performed an internal investigation that resulted in the validation of the whistleblower’s report and the company’s decision to self-report its findings to the SEC. All of those facts are critical, as the SEC’s whistleblower provision mandates that a whistleblower can be compensated if his or her time is made internally and to the SEC within 120 days.  If a whistleblower dual reports and the internal report to the company results in a self-report, then the whistleblower will receive a reward ranging from 15% to 30% of all money recovered. As I have discussed in earlier blog posts, that reward frequently falls in the million dollar range.

As I mentioned, it is critical that the whistleblower both notified his company and the SEC of the fraud.  You may remember an earlier blog post I wrote about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, which held that a person who only reports fraud internally could not avail themselves of the SEC whistleblower program’s anti-retaliation provisions.  That means that if a whistleblower only reports internally, they do not have legal recourse if the company retaliates against them for reporting fraud. Shockingly, this is true even if the company self-reports the fraud to the SEC.  Similarly, it is vital that the whistleblower make his or her report to the SEC within 120 days of making an internal report.  If the report is made later, the whistleblower is not eligible to receive compensation under the SEC’s whistleblower program.

What Should You Do if You are Considering Making a Whistleblower Claim?

The narrative I provided above demonstrates just some of the complexities of making a report of ongoing fraud to the SEC. The U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC receive thousands of potential whistleblower claims each year, and only those that meet their requirements and are reported in a way that triggers their interest are acted upon. Even if you have a strong allegation, if your case is disorganized or is missing important elements, it will likely be ignored. Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577.

Experienced whistleblower lawyer Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful whistleblower case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call us today.  Our Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer looks forward to making a difference for you.

Many people erroneously believe that only those actively involved in fraud against the U.S. government can be prosecuted under the False Claims Act.  In fact, you can be implicated in a fraud case if you participate, even passively, in any element of the fraud. I will explore this issue in greater detail below, but want to highlight the fact that this creates opportunities for those of you here in Mississippi that are interested in becoming a whistleblower. You do not have to work for the company that is actively committing fraud against the federal government to become a whistleblower; instead, you can work for a secondary contractor that provides some service to the primary company that is engaging in fraud.  For example, if you are an accountant that audits a construction company that is providing sub-standard services on a government contract, you can claim whistleblower status and report the construction company’s actions.  Inversely, you can be implicated in the fraud if you work to cover it up.

Are you considering becoming a whistleblower? If you are aware of fraud occurring in relation to a government contract, you should do the right thing and report it. You will need the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney to guide you through the process and to attain your fair share of compensation.  Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577 to attain the advice you need.

Third Party Liability Under the False Claims Act

In several recent cases, the U.S. Department of Justice has shown that it is interested in prosecuting those that help companies that are doing business with the federal government engage in fraud.  The fraud can be supplying sub-standard products, price inflation, kickbacks, or any other act where the federal government does not get what it pays for.  The Department of Justice will not only prosecute the companies committing fraud, but also tech companies that handle the IT underlying the transaction, accountants and attorneys that give advice regarding the fraudulent activity, and financial institutions that underwrite the activities.

In United States ex rel. Goodman v. Arriva Medical LLC, the Department of Justice is prosecuting

Arriva Medical, a diabetes testing company for paying illegal kickbacks to those that referred business to them. It is interesting to note, however, that the third party consultant who provided advice to Arriva regarding testing reimbursement is also being prosecuted. Similarly, the Department of Justice is prosecuting several private equity firms for providing strategic guidance to other medical providers who were engaged in kickback schemes.

Most notably, Deloitte and Touche, one of the world’s leading accounting firms, recently paid a $150 million settlement to the Department of Justice related to the advice the firm provided to mortgage lenders in the leadup to the subprime mortgage crisis.

What Should You Do if You are Considering Making a Whistleblower Claim?

Many people believe that only those working for a company that is committing fraud can become a whistleblower concerning that fraud.  But as the above post makes clear, if you are a third party observer of fraud against the U.S. government—an attorney, vendor, accountant, contractor, financial advisor, auditor—you can file a whistleblower case too.  You will need to speak to an attorney with significant experience in this area of the law if you are interested in becoming a whistleblower. Contact Barrett Law now at (800) 707-9577.

Experienced whistleblower lawyer Barrett can provide you with the advice you will need to file a successful whistleblower case. Having expert legal advice by your side can mean the difference between receiving your share of a whistleblower reward and losing your career and livelihood. Call us today.  Our Mississippi Whistleblower Lawyer looks forward to making a difference for you.