False Claims, Whistleblower, and Internal Investigations

We have a long track record of successfully handling all aspects of sensitive investigations and defending challenging litigation before the DOL and federal courts in whistleblower matters involving safety and environmental issues. We also have experience defending countless retaliation claims brought by all levels of employees before a wide range of tribunals.

FCA Matters

• Successfully defended a major defense contractor against a qui tam suit alleging violations of the FCA, winning dismissal of the suit. The qui tam relator appealed the dismissal to the Court of Appeals which upheld the dismissal.
• Ongoing representation of large aerospace & defense contractor in ethics and compliance investigations across various company locations to assess possible misconduct and mandatory disclosure requirement.
• Successfully represented government contractor client in a qui tam Lawsuit involving violations of the False Claims Act. Complaint dismissed and judge agreed it lacked jurisdiction and failed to meet the pleading requirements for fraud.
• Assisted a client with responding to a subpoena issued by the United States Attorney / NASA Office of Inspector General. The Government closed its investigation without action against our client.
• Successfully defended managed health care plan and secured involuntary dismissal of high stakes qui tam action under California False Claims Act for alleged Medi-Cal fraud.
• Represented a staffing company in connection with FCA claims alleging fraud in connection with New York City’s City Time implementation. After the court dismissed the substantive FCA claims, the case went to trial on the relator’s retaliation claims. All claims were denied in favor of our client.
• Represented a major construction company in response to FCA claims brought in connection with the construction of the World Trade Center in New York. After case was unsealed, all claims were dismissed.
• Represented health care company in responding to Civil Investigative Demands as part of FCA investigations for alleged upcoding and Medicare fraud.
• Successfully defended one of the nation’s major industry associations against a civil False Claims Act suit, settling the case for less than 1% of the alleged damages of $31 million.

Non-FCA Matters

• Our team quickly conducted an intense internal investigation, identifying the wrongdoer and advising on the appropriate next steps for our client, a large public insurance company, who was the victim in a $17 million-plus embezzlement scheme by a senior executive.
• Conducted an internal investigation into a whistleblower’s allegations that certain employees were engaged in illegal conduct on the company’s computer systems. Our investigation concluded that the subject conduct was isolated, and did not involve senior management. Our report and conclusions were presented to the government, which was satisfied that the company’s termination of certain employees was adequate, and the government investigation was closed with no further action.
• Retained by a public company after a whistleblower reported to the company’s auditors that certain revenue had been reported by a salesperson prematurely. After the company’s audit committee was notified of the issue, it retained Seyfarth with the approval of its outside auditing firm to conduct an investigation and provide findings. After we completed our investigation and recommended certain remedial action that was implemented by the company, the auditor completed its audit and issued its opinion. No further action was taken.
• Conducted an investigation for a multinational client after allegations were made by a whistleblower that certain improper payments had been made to foreign officials in one of the company’s foreign subsidiaries. In addition to responding to the whistleblower’s allegations of retaliation, we conducted a comprehensive investigation into the alleged payments, concluding no illegal payments had been made and that the whistleblower’s allegations were unfounded. Our team prepared a report that was shared with certain investigating authorities, and no further action was taken.
• Successfully negotiated the settlement of a whistleblower claim brought by a senior attorney within a large publicly-traded financial institution, after the attorney alleged that he had raised concerns over the accounting for certain financial products carried on the company’s books. Working with the client, we were able to demonstrate not only a lack of retaliation, but also that the underlying allegations of improper conduct were unfounded, resulting in a very favorable settlement that was a fraction of the employee’s original demand.
• Obtained a complete victory for a health care public company against claims by a whistleblower that she was retaliated against after raising concerns about certain data reported to regulators. After an investigation revealed her own improper conduct and her termination, she filed suit with OSHA, and then pursued the claim through trial before an administrative judge and through appeal to the Administrative Review Board at the Department of Labor. Seyfarth attorneys successfully tried the administrative case and successfully argued the appeal.
• Obtained a complete victory after five days of hearings before a FINRA arbitration panel for our financial services client. Claims were brought by a former vice president, who claimed that he was terminated for raising concerns about fees charged to clients, and false disclosures to clients. Seyfarth first successfully moved to compel arbitration, and then tried the case.