In his first State of the Union address to Congress on March 1, President Joe Biden announced his administration’s plans to prioritize prosecuting fraud involving funds the government dispersed as part of its COVID-19 response. 

Biden said that under his administration, “the watchdogs are welcomed back,” and unveiled plans for the U.S. Department of Justice to name a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud.

“We’re going to go after the criminals who stole billions in relief money meant for small businesses and millions of Americans,” he said.

Shortly after, on March 10, the DOJ announced the appointment of Associate Deputy Attorney General Kevin Chambers as director for COVID-19 fraud enforcement. 

At the time of Chambers’ appointment, the DOJ said its efforts had already resulted in criminal charges against more than 1,000 people with alleged losses totaling more than $1.1 billion and civil investigations into more than 1,800 individuals and entities for alleged misconduct involving pandemic relief loans valued at more than $6 billion. 

“The Justice Department remains committed to using every available federal tool — including criminal, civil, and administrative actions — to combat and prevent COVID-19 related fraud,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “We will continue to hold accountable those who seek to exploit the pandemic for personal gain, to protect vulnerable populations, and to safeguard the integrity of taxpayer-funded programs.”

To date, the DOJ has focused on several fronts of COVID-19 related fraud, including COVID-19 health care fraud enforcement. 

Whistleblowers play an important role in helping the government combat fraud. One of the government’s most important tools for recovering taxpayer dollars is the False Claims Act, or FCA, which provides an avenue for whistleblowers to report wrongdoing. 

The FCA was originally signed into law in 1863 to help combat fraud by suppliers to the U.S. government during the Civil War. It incentivizes whistleblowers to report a fraud on the government by rewarding them with a percentage of the amount the government successfully recovers because of the whistleblower’s FCA case. By law, that amount is 15 to 30 percent of the government’s recovery, depending on a few factors. The law also protects against retaliation. 

False Claims Act whistleblowers tend to be employees with first-hand knowledge of fraud in their companies, and for that reason, their cases often combine whistleblower and employment law issues. With more than 30 years of combined experience litigating fraud and employment cases, the attorneys of Keller Grover stand ready to represent whistleblowers in a holistic way.  

The firm has recovered billions for clients. Last year, Keller Grover obtained a $90 million settlement on behalf of Kathy Ormsby, who alleged that Sutter Health knowingly submitted inaccurate and unsupported medical diagnosis codes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, which inflated its Medicare Advantage reimbursements. 

The settlement marked the largest False Claims Act Settlement against a hospital system involving allegations of fraud on the Medicare Advantage Program and the second-largest Medicare Advantage fraud settlement ever.  

Kathleen R. Scanlan, who represents Keller Grover’s whistleblower clients, is a national leader in whistleblower law. She is frequently invited to speak on panels on FCA topics, including the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Kathleen is a member of Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF), a non-profit group dedicated to educating the public about the FCA. She serves as Chairwoman of TAF’s Public Education Committee and co-founded a TAF subcommittee exploring issues involving pharmaceutical fraud stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you have information about COVID-19-related fraud and want to report it, we are here to help. For advice about how to handle suspected fraud, contact Keller Grover for a free and confidential consultation.