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A qui tam case is a type of lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act (FCA). The person or entity who brings a qui tam lawsuit is called a “relator.” Relators are sometimes called “whistleblowers.”  In a qui tam procedure, the relator initiates the action on behalf of the government and himself. If a relator successfully brings a...

Public corporations must comply with a wide range of rules and regulations. This is especially true when dealing with the issuing or sale of securities to raise capital for a business. In most cases, federal securities laws under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) apply. However, each state also has its own...

Allegations of healthcare fraud can be very serious legal matters. When a doctor or other healthcare provider is accused of fraud, the ramifications can be severe. Depending on the type of allegation, a healthcare professional could potentially lose their professional license, face other sanctions restricting their ability to operate their business, or even face criminal...

In general terms, illegal insider trading refers to buying or selling a security, in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence, on the basis of material, nonpublic information about the security. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought insider trading cases against: Corporate officers, directors, and employees who...

There are generally two types of Medicaid fraud: fraud committed by healthcare service providers and fraud committed by recipients. The attorneys at Brewer, Pritchard & Buckley, P.C. represent healthcare service providers and medical professionals who have been accused of Medicaid fraud and are facing disciplinary action from a state or federal agency. Some examples of...

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing a challenge to California's Proposition 63 that created the state's problem-plagued ammunition background-check program. In April, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez said the state's program has been used to "systematically prohibit or deter an untold number of law-abiding California citizen-residents from undergoing the required background...

In the case of the State of New York vs. the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Engelmayer voided the federal government’s “conscience rule,” which would have allowed healthcare workers to exercise their ethical rights to refuse to perform medical procedures that violate their religious or moral...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has instituted a series of initiatives in recent years to end the “pay-and-chase” system. Under the “pay-and-chase” model, federal healthcare programs blindly pay out hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare claims each year — and then later come back to identify fraud in those claims and...

Rule 48a allows the federal government to dismiss an indictment or complaint. The rule also allows for the dismissal of the prosecution during trial with the consent of the defendant with the leave of the court. In addition, Rule 48b allows the court to dismiss an indictment or complaint if there are delays in presenting...

In December of 2017, United States Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn (Ret.) appeared in federal court to formalize a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller to plead guilty to a felony count of "willfully and knowingly" making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with Russia shortly after the 2016 presidential election. In June...