FCA

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Photo of Nkechi KanuPhoto of Brian Tully McLaughlinPhoto of Jacob HarrisonPhoto of Jennie Wang VonCannon

On May 1, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Insight Global LLC (Insight), an international staffing and services company, will pay $2.7 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to implement adequate cybersecurity measures to protect personal health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII) under its contracts with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH) to provide staffing for COVID-19 contact tracing services.  Although contracts with state agencies generally fall outside the FCA’s ambit, PADOH paid Insight using funds received from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—bringing the contract within the FCA’s scope. Continue Reading No End “Insight” for DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative

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A recently-announced False Claims Act (FCA) settlement illustrates how government contractors and other FCA defendants can take advantage of a Department of Justice (DOJ) policy that rewards voluntary self-disclosure to, and subsequent cooperation with, the government.Continue Reading False Claims Act Settlement Illustrates Value of Disclosure and Cooperation

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2023 brought many important False Claims Act developments for companies with business involving government funds.  While overall recoveries remained down compared to pre-2022 levels, the total number of settlements and judgments exceeded any prior year.  Those settlements and judgments also highlight areas of particular focus for the Government, including cybersecurity compliance, pandemic fraud, and small…

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On March 7, 2024, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco delivered remarks at the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime announcing a new Department of Justice (DOJ) pilot program that incentivizes whistleblowers to report corporate misconduct by offering monetary rewards.  Likening the program to “the days of ‘Wanted’ posters across the Old West,” DAG Monaco explained that individuals who help DOJ discover otherwise unknown, “significant” corporate or financial crime could receive a portion of the resulting forfeiture.  This program will encourage whistleblowers to report a broad range of criminal activity by bridging the divide between DOJ’s priorities and other whistleblower mechanisms such as the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision (which is only available for fraud against the government), and programs at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and other federal agencies (which only cover misconduct within their respective jurisdictions).  By placing a bounty on corporate actors, this DOJ pilot program—which will be developed by the Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS)—underscores the need for companies to take stock of their compliance programs and enhance their internal reporting infrastructure.    Continue Reading DOJ Offers Cash “Carrot” to Whistleblowers; Foreshadows “Stick” of More Corporate Enforcement

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Cost Accounting and the False Claims Act

In this episode, Jason Crawford, Agustin Orozco, and Erin Rankin look back at one of the more noteworthy settlements of 2023—the $377M settlement by Booz Allen Hamilton to resolve allegations arising out of the company’s purported non-compliance with Cost Accounting Standards. “Let’s Talk FCA” is Crowell & Moring’s…

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The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that a homeowners association (HOA) in California has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve allegations that the HOA obtained approximately $1.5 million in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that the HOA was not entitled to receive due to its status as a 501(c)(4) organization.  The HOA reportedly will pay $2,037,451 to resolve the allegations.  Of that amount, $244,494 will go to Wade Riner—the relator who initiated the action by filing a complaint under seal pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA).  According to the Tribune’s reporting, Riner has filed dozens of similar FCA suits across the country.Continue Reading 501(c)(4) HOA to Pay Over $2M to Resolve FCA Allegations in Connection with PPP Loan

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Civil-Cyber Fraud Initiative

In this episode, Jason Crawford, Nkechi Kanu, and Agustin Orozco discuss a recent settlement that underscores the DOJ’s increased use of the False Claims Act to enforce noncompliance with cybersecurity requirements. “Let’s Talk FCA” is Crowell & Moring’s podcast covering the latest developments with the False Claims Act.

Listen: Crowell.com |…

Photo of Peter J. EyrePhoto of M.Yuan Zhou

This week’s episode covers a Federal Circuit decision about jurisdiction under the Contract Disputes Act, a claim for additional costs relating to COVID related delays, and a False Claims Act settlement touching on cybersecurity and self-disclosure, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast…

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A False Claims Act (FCA) settlement recently announced by the U.S. Department of Justice stands at the intersection of two evolving trends:  DOJ’s increasing focus on cybersecurity lapses by government contractors as part of its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, and DOJ policies incentivizing corporations to voluntarily self-disclose violations of federal law.

On September 5, 2023, DOJ announced a $4 million settlement with Verizon Business Network Services LLC (Verizon) addressing allegations that Verizon violated the FCA because certain telecommunications services it provided to federal agencies under its General Services Administration (GSA) contracts did not comply with applicable cybersecurity requirements, namely the Office of Management and Budget’s Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) initiative.  DOJ specifically alleged that Verizon’s Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service (MTIPS)—an information technology service that allows federal agencies to securely connect to public internet and external networks—did not comply with three security controls in the Department of Homeland Security’s TIC Reference Architecture Document, including a control that required the use of FIPS 140-2 validated cryptography.  The Verizon settlement represents the latest example of DOJ’s continued focus on cybersecurity cases, a trend that we believe will only continue to escalate going forward.Continue Reading Civil Cyber-Fraud Settlement Highlights Potential for Cooperation Credit