You can file a whistleblower lawsuit over many types of fraud against the government. This is not only the right thing to do, but it could also result in you receiving a percentage of the funds recovered by the government.
However, whistleblower lawsuits are extremely complicated and difficult to manage on your own, no matter what type of government fraud is involved. This is one of the reasons you could benefit from working with one of our Cincinnati government fraud attorneys on your lawsuit. We are prepared to take on many types of government fraud cases and understand what it takes to be successful. We know you took a big risk coming forward, and that is why we will provide aggressive representation as we fight for your best interests.
Your consultation with our attorneys is free and comes with no obligation to file a lawsuit.
Types Of Government Fraud
Any individual, business or program that submits a false or fraudulent claim to the U.S. government for payment or engages in some type of deceptive action to obtain payment, has committed government fraud.
Our Cincinnati government fraud attorneys are prepared to take on many different types of government fraud cases involving a variety of industries that receive funding from the government, including:
Health Care Fraud
In 2015 alone, Medicare lost approximately $60 billion of taxpayer money due to government fraud, waste, abuse and improper payments, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Government fraud is also a widespread problem with Medicaid, another government-funded insurance program. In the 2016 fiscal year,
Medicaid Fraud Control Units recovered nearly $2 billion from criminal and civil lawsuits over fraudulently obtained government money.
One reason for widespread fraud with Medicare and Medicaid could be that the government has no watchdog group to help ensure health care providers charge appropriate prices for their services. Some health care providers try to exploit this by overcharging or requesting payment for services that were never performed.
Some health care providers also try to charge for unnecessary services because the people who run Medicare and Medicaid do not have a detailed understanding of medical treatment. They may not know when a service is unnecessary.
Common examples of government fraud in health care include:
- Billing for one service multiple times
- Billing for a more expensive type of health care service that was not actually provided
- Billing for services that were provided but were not medically necessary
- Using fraudulently obtained funds to promote more fraud
- Billing for fictitious medical services
- Using kickbacks to get more patients to a medical facility to bill for health care services
If you know about any of these forms of government fraud occurring, our government fraud attorneys in Cincinnati may be able to help you file a lawsuit.
Defense Contractor Fraud
This occurs when defense contractors who build or work on vehicles and other equipment for the U.S. Armed Forces engage in fraud to obtain money from the government.
This often happens during contract negotiations between defense contractors and the government. For example, a defense contractor might submit false pricing data to obtain inflated prices on a government contract. A defense contractor could also falsely claim that products were made in America to fraudulently charge a higher price.
Other examples of defense contractor fraud include:
- Failing to meet the performance requirements of a contract
- Billing for materials or labor that were not used to fulfill the terms of a government contract
- Billing for services not covered by a contract, such as marketing, sales or lobbying costs
- Using substandard materials that violate contract guidelines
- Using kickbacks like bribes, gifts, vacations or hiring relatives to secure government contracts
Federal Student Loan Fraud
One of the most common forms of federal student loan fraud involves colleges making deceptive statements to prospective students to get them to enroll. These students often need to take out federal student loans to pay their tuition and the money goes to the colleges.
Deceptive statements could include saying a prospective student will be ready for a career in his or her major when a small percentage of graduates are actually working in the field. School officials could also claim they prepare students for careers in the legal field even though the school has no bar association accreditation.
Government fraud is particularly common at for-profit schools. The government can withhold student loan payments if a college has a student loan default rate above 30 percent for three years in a row. However, some schools have found out how to get temporary deferments or forbearances on loans to prevent the loss of government funds.
Government fraud also occurs in construction, real estate, the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Customs, investing and financial services, and scientific research. Our legal team at O’Connor, Acciani & Levy also has tax fraud attorneys who take cases involving fraud against the Internal Revenue Service concerning income taxes.
If you are aware of government fraud by an individual or organization, you can put a stop to it by filing a whistleblower lawsuit. Our Cincinnati government fraud lawyers can help you at every stage of the legal process. Our goal is to hold the fraudsters accountable and obtain compensation for your decision to come forward.
Compensation For Your Government Fraud Lawsuit
Government fraud lawsuits are governed by the False Claims Act. This law says that if your lawsuit is successful, you may be entitled to a percentage of the recovered funds.
The amount you receive depends on your level of contribution to the success of the case and whether the government joins it or not.
The higher your level of contribution to the success of the lawsuit, as determined by the court, the higher the percentage of compensation you are likely to receive. If the government joins your lawsuit, you could receive 15 to 25 percent of the recovered funds. If the government does not join your lawsuit, and it is successful, you will receive a minimum of 25 percent of the recovered funds. The most you can receive is 30 percent.
A government fraud lawyer in Cincinnati can also pursue compensation for our costs for representing you.
How Long Do I Have To File A Whistleblower Lawsuit?
Your lawsuit is governed by the False Claims Act statute of limitations. This statute says lawsuits must be filed within six years of fraud occurring, or three years of when the government should have been aware fraud was occurring.
There is an exception to this when it takes a long time for the government to become aware of fraud. If this happens, you cannot file a lawsuit more than 10 years after fraud occurred, no matter when the government knew or should have known about it.
These rules can be confusing to interpret on your own. Fortunately, a Cincinnati government fraud attorney will have detailed knowledge of this statute of limitations and its exceptions. This will help ensure your lawsuit is filed before the applicable statute of limitations expires.
The government does not have the ability to catch everyone who is attempting to commit fraud. That is why whistleblowers have an important role in putting a stop to government fraud.
However, you could be subject to various forms of retaliation if you are alerting the government to fraud at your workplace. This is one of the reasons you could be entitled to a percentage of the recovered funds if your lawsuit is successful.
Our government fraud lawyers in Cincinnati understand the risk you took, and we are committed to fighting for all the compensation you deserve. Your consultation with our attorneys comes with no obligation to pursue a lawsuit.
