On September 12, Getnick & Getnick LLP Managing Partner Neil V. Getnick spoke at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) General Counsel Meeting. Mr. Getnick addressed the NNSA Prime Contractors’ General Counsel regarding business integrity programs and the False Claims Act. In his remarks, Mr. Getnick discussed how approaching legal guidance from the lens of…
Associate Courtney Finerty-Stelzner Moderates CLE on Using the False Claims Act to Fight Customs Fraud
Associate Courtney Finerty-Stelzner serves as the Chair of the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”), Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, Civil Prosecution Committee. In that role, Ms. Finerty-Stelzner organized and moderated a Continuing Legal Education Program titled “Using the False Claims Act to Fight Customs Fraud: What You Need to Know.” The CLE featured speakers…
Supreme Court Rules that Government Must Intervene Before Moving to Dismiss False Claims Act Case Over Whistleblower’s Objection
The Supreme Court issued its ruling in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. today, holding that the government must intervene in a False Claims Act qui tam case before moving to dismiss it over the whistleblower’s objection. The False Claims Act is a statute that the government and entities or individuals can…
Supreme Court Upholds False Claims Act Knowledge Standard in Unanimous Ruling
The Supreme Court issued its ruling in United States ex rel. Shutte v. Supervalu, Inc. today and unanimously upheld the knowledge standard in False Claims Act cases. In this highly anticipated case, the Court rejected the Seventh Circuit’s holding that a defendant who knew it was acting illegally was not liable under the False Claims…
SEC Issues Largest-Ever Whistleblower Award
The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has issue an award of nearly $279 million to a whistleblower whose information and assistance led to a successful enforcement of SEC and related actions. The $279 million award is the largest-ever award under the SEC’s Whistleblower Program, more than doubling the $114 million whistleblower…
NHTSA Issues Proposed Regulations for Motor Vehicle Whistleblower Program
The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) has published proposed regulations to implement the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act, which Congress passed in 2015 as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. The Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act created a whistleblower program designed to incentivize motor vehicle industry insiders to report safety-related…
Senators Reintroduce Bill to Strengthen SEC Whistleblower Program
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) have reintroduced legislation designed to strengthen whistleblower protections at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The bill, known as the SEC Whistleblower Reform Act, would make the following changes to the SEC whistleblower program: (1) protect whistleblowers from retaliation if they report violations to a direct…
Department of Justice Announces False Claims Act Settlements and Judgments for Fiscal Year 2022
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced today that settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act exceeded $2.2 billion in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. DOJ reported that over $1.7 billion of those recoveries related to matters that involved the health care industry, including cases relating to: (1) fraud and abuse in the…
SEC Awards $28M to Joint Whistleblowers
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it had awarded $28 million to joint whistleblowers under the SEC’s Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program. According to the SEC, the joint whistleblowers “provided critical information and assistance” in a successful enforcement action that led to the return of millions of dollars to injured investors. Earlier this month, the…
Congress Strengthens Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Program
As part of the 2022 omnibus spending bill, Congress has passed significant improvements to the Treasury Department’s anti-money laundering whistleblower program. Congress initially created the anti-money-laundering whistleblower program to encourage tipsters to come forward with information about money laundering violations. The changes made by the recent legislation improve the program in multiple ways. First, it…