COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the national economy, prompting government economic stimulus of historic proportions. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided monetary aid relief to millions of Americans and included the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loans. With over $600 billion pumped into the economy in 2020 and …

A California federal district court granted a motion to dismiss in a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case based upon the FCA public disclosure bar. United States of America, et. al. v. Shamir USA, Inc., 2:18-cv-09426-RGK-PLA, 2020 WL 6152466. The public disclosure bar prohibits a relator from bringing a FCA case based on a fraud …

The government is continuing to investigate individuals who submitted fraudulent applications for funds under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In fact, the government has established a national hotline to report fraud involving COVID-19. The Northern District of Texas recently charged Dinesh Sah (Sah) with …

Telemedicine has been growing over the last several years, and COVID-19 has accelerated that growth. Several provisions in the CARES Act relaxed telemedicine rules.  In addition to the CARES Act, there have been many other legislative and policy changes on both the national and state levels. For example, in March 2020, HHS OIG issued …

There is a common misconception that if a healthcare provider only accepts private funds, they are immune from federal prosecution. While there is no denying that a provider who receives substantial reimbursement from federal payors is more likely to find him/herself under federal scrutiny, there has been increasing focus on providers who received little …

In January 2020, the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) released the Inter-District Differences in Federal Sentencing Patterns, which examines sentencing practices across districts in the post-Booker era, between 2005 and 2017. The report can be found at https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2020/20200122_Inter-District-Report.pdf. The USSC’s analysis found that consistent with the Commission’s 2012 Booker Report, sentencing outcomes continue to …

The government is continuing to investigate individuals who submitted fraudulent applications for funds under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  The Eastern District of Texas recently charged Samuel Yates (Yates) with wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution, and making false …

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has already begun investigating companies who applied for loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the CARES Act. Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski recently announced that the DOJ would file criminal charges against those who provided misleading information to obtain government funds under the CARES Act. Individuals charged …

There has been a slew of legislation and government payments related to COVID-19. Consequently, there are sure to be many investigations regarding alleged fraudulent activity and we are already seeing some of them. These prosecutions will likely fall in the following four primary areas: (1) healthcare fraud and kickbacks; (2) government contractor fraud; (3) …

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance for certain healthcare providers regarding coronavirus. The healthcare providers include nursing homes, home health agencies, dialysis facilities, hospices, hospitals and others. The guidance varies by specific area, but generally focuses on limiting transmission based on restricting visitation, social distancing, sanitization and monitoring. The hospital …