Qui Tam Law Firm

Timothy J. McInnis Explains the Pros and Cons of Blowing the Whistle to a National Audience of Corporate Compliance Professionals

A large percentage of whistleblower cases under qui tam provisions of federal, state and local False Claims Acts were, or could have been, filed by corporate compliance professionals “doing the right thing.” Many of these in-house experts are uniquely positioned to stop fraud, but often are powerless to bring about needed changes due to corporate cultures that are willing to overlook false billing for goods and services, or even worse, high level managers and executives that are complicit in such conduct.

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Whistleblower attorney Timothy J. McInnis, of McInnis Law in New York City, explains the pros and cons of becoming a whistleblower to a reading audience of compliance professionals across the U.S. in an exclusive article appearing in the July 23, 2013 edition of the influential Web-based publication, Corporate Compliance Insights.

With more than 50,000 readers in all strata of compliance, which includes corporate general counsel offices, the publication, “combines featured articles written by some of the most experienced compliance and ethics professionals in the world with regular updates of important news events in the world of governance, risk, and compliance,” according to its “About” page.

After the McInnis article was online for just one week, Corporate Compliance Insights visitors made the whstleblower article most-read, according to the publication’s July 31, 2013 newsletter.

Whistleblower Attorney Timothy J. McInnis Explains the Pros and Cons of Blowing the Whistle in Corporate Compliance Insights 

Timothy J. McInnis Leads 31st International Environmental Law Conference Panel Bringing Attorneys, Scientists and Others from 50 Countries to The University of Oregon’s Law School

(EUGENE, OR) — Whistleblower Attorney Timothy J. McInnis led a panel focusing on the use of whistleblower law in environmental cases at the annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (“PIELC”), which is billed as, “the premier annual gathering for environmentalists in the world.”

PIELC’s 31st annual conference brought thousands of activists, attorneys, students, scientists, and community members from more than 50 countries to Oregon to share their ideas, experience, and expertise. The four-day program featured keynote addresses, workshops, films, celebrations, and more than 120 panels.

Themed, “Earth Too Big to Fail,” the 2013 PIELC was held February 28 to March 3 at the University of Oregon School of Law. McInnis’s panel, entitled, “The “False Claims Acts: Another Tool for Environmental Lawyers,” focused on three fundamental questions for using the False Claims Acts in environmental law cases: When can such a case be filed? How do you go about filing one? And, why would it be advantageous or disadvantageous to do so?

A lawyer whose practice includes environmental cases and an Assistant U.S. Attorney from the District of Oregon joined McInnis: David A. Nicholas, an attorney who specializes in public interest lawsuits on behalf of citizen and environmental groups to protect natural resources and public health and has brought cases under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and other federal and state environmental laws; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Potter who handles, among other things, civil and criminal cases involving fraud against the government.

“The False Claims Acts may present opportunities to prevent or rectify environmental harm,” McInnis said. “Environmental and whistleblower attorneys who seek to utilize them must be careful to craft their complaints and shape their cases properly to enhance the opportunity for the government to prevail.”

Read the PIELC 2013 Brochure 

Whistleblowers Receive $530 Million in FY 2011
Qui Tam Whistleblowers Celebrate A Banner Year, Receiving More Than $530 Million in Rewards for $3 Billion Recovered

(New York City) — Qui Tam Whistleblowers across the country helped U.S. taxpayers celebrate another banner recovery year, receiving more than $530 million in rewards for helping the federal government recover nearly all of the $3 billion it obtained in under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), in Fiscal Year 2011 (FY 2011), Whistleblower Attorney Timothy J. McInnis of McInnis Law announced.

For stepping forward to report false federal billing, usually after failed attempts to get the false billing corrected internally, Qui Tam Whistleblowers helped the government recover $2.8 billion from October 2010 through September 2011, the federal fiscal year.

And, in helping to return billions to taxpayers, whistleblowers received a total of $532,193,735, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division.

Read The Entire News Release 

Whistleblowers Receive $350 Million in FY 2010
Qui Tam Whistleblowers Rewarded With $350 Million Of $2.3 Billion In FY 2010 Federal False Claims Act Recoveries; More Than $18 Billion Has Been Returned To Federal Taxpayers Since 1986 False Claims Law Revisions, From Which Qui Tam Whistleblowers Received Nearly $3 Billion, Qui Tam Attorney Timothy J. McInnis Announced

WASHINGTON (November 2010)—Qui Tam whistleblowers have received nearly $3 billion in rewards for helping the federal government recover more than $18 billion in false claims cases since 1986 revisions to the federal law added protections and more incentives for whistleblowers who step forward and, “Do the right thing,” Qui Tam attorney Timothy J. McInnis announced.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported total FY2010 Qui Tam-assisted recoveries of $2.3 billion. Whistleblowers who brought those cases were rewarded with $385 million of the proceeds, according to a news release quoting Assistant Attorney General Tony West, who heads the Department’s Civil Division.

Read The Entire News Release

Qui Tam Attorney Timothy J. McInnis, Esq. Lectures At American Bar Association False Claims Act Institute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In June 2010, NYC-based whistleblower attorney Timothy J. McInnis addressed government representatives, defense lawyers, relators’ counsel, and other attendees at the American Bar Association’s 8th Annual National Institute on Civil False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement.

The American Bar Association’s Institute brought together experts from all areas—the U.S. Department of Justice, state Attorneys General offices, other federal agencies, and leading defense and plaintiff firms—to discuss the ever-growing area of False Claims Act litigation and enforcement, particularly in light of recent amendments to the statute that make it even more powerful. The specific topic of attorney McInnis’ presentation was “Settlement of An FCA Healthcare Case.”

Whistleblowers Help Add $2 Billion in Civil Fraud Settlements and Judgments in Fiscal Year 2009 Qui Tam Attorney Timothy J. McInnis Announces

WASHINGTON — Whistleblowers in Fiscal Year 2009 (“FY2009”) helped add $2 billion in civil fraud settlements and judgments to more than $24 billion recovered since the False Claims Act was amended in 1986 to add greater incentives and protections for whistleblowers, qui tam attorney Timothy J. McInnis announced.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, in a November 2009 news release, pegged total recoveries for FY2009 at $2.4 billion, calling it the second largest recovery year in federal False Claims Act history.

Read The Entire News Release

“The Big Picture” 20 Years of Department of Justice Fraud Statistics

From The False Claims and Qui Tam Quarterly Review , the nation’s premier legal journal devoted solely to the False Claims Act and qui tam litigation. Presented with permission from Quarterly Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund (TAFEF), a nonprofit, public interest, membership organization dedicated to combating fraud against the Federal Government through the promotion and use of the Federal False Claims Act and its qui tam provisions. Timothy J. McInnis, Esq. is a longtime Taxpayers Against Fraud member.

“The Big Picture” (PDF)

Record Fraud Recoveries Under the False Claims Act; 20-Year Old Law One of Nation’s Most Effective

Note: Timothy J. McInnis, Esq. is a long-time member of Taxpayers Against Fraud (“TAF”), a member of the DC-based organization’s advisory board, and served as a panel chairman at TAF’s last three annual meetings.

WASHINGTON — Fiscal Year 2006 will be a record year for False Claims Act (“FCA”) recoveries, says Taxpayers Against Fraud, which estimates total settlements and judgments will top $3.142 billion. This figure does not include more than $200 million in settlements which have been announced by companies but not yet green-lighted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Notes Jim Moorman, president of Taxpayers Against Fraud, “We have seen extraordinary fraud settlements this year. The whistleblowers, investigators, and private and Department of Justice attorneys that have worked on these cases deserve a huge thank you from the American people.”

Moorman notes that 80 percent of all successfully resolved FCA cases are brought to the government by whistleblowers, and while the amount of money being recovered is going up, the actual number of cases being settled has not. This is because the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division has not been given the resources to handle its False Claims Act case load. “The folks at DoJ are working very hard, but they need more resources from Congress and the Administration.”

The revived False Claims Act is 20 years old this year, and remains the most important tool the Government has to fight fraud against U.S. taxpayers. The False Claims Act provides for triple damages plus statutory fines of up to $11,000 per false claims, with whistleblowers that bring evidence of fraud to the Government are eligible for awards of 15 to 30 percent of the total amount recovered under the Act. DoJ’s policy is to extract double damages when it settles.
That’s the theory. In reality, says Moorman, the Government is as likely to settle fraud cases for single damages, or less, than double damages. “If we look at the big fraud cases settled this year, it appears Tenet Healthcare stole $1.9 billion but only had to pay back $900 million; that St. Barnabas Hospitals had to pay back $265 million, but stole more than twice that amount; that Mario Gabelli and associates may have pocketed over $200 million from their scam, but they only had to pay back $130 million.

“The goal of the False Claims Act is to change the way companies do business, but if that’s going to occur, the Government needs to devote more resources to False Claims Act enforcement so more cases can be pursued. DoJ is doing all it can with the resources it now has, but Congress and the Administration have not provided what is needed to clear the docket.”

Moorman notes that in the health care arena, the False Claims Act is returning more than $15 back to the American people for every dollar invested in investigations and prosecutions.
“If False Claims Act enforcement were run like a business, the Government would expand its operations dramatically. Instead, while we know we are losing billions of dollars a year to fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, the war in Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina aid, we devote a ridiculously small amount of resources to False Claims Act prosecutions and enforcement.
For example, the Civil Division’s Fraud Team only got $23 million in FY 2006, and all of the U.S. Attorney’s office combined got less than $57 million for FCA cases. This is amazingly little when compared with the magnificent $3 billion recovered under the False Claims Act this year. Think what could be done if enforcement resources were doubled or tripled.”

Timothy J. McInnis, Esq. To Chair Panel At Taxpayer’s Against Fraud’s Annual Meeting In Washington, D.C., In September 2006

WASHINGTON — Whistleblower Attorney Timothy J. McInnis, Esq. will head a panel discussion when the nation’s foremost legal association for whistleblower qui tam attorneys meets here in September. The Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Conference: Government Perspectives on the False Claims Act will bring some of the leading False Claims Act practitioners together in Washington, D.C.
McInnis’ panel entitled, False Claims Act Qui Tam Practice: Business Concerns & Considerations will be held in a breakout session for attorneys on Monday September 11, 2006.

Research Hospitals In The Compliance Hot Seat
May 23, 2006
By Richard Merli Managing Editor, Health Care Insider

Major hospitals have become the target of federal investigators over the failure to address the misuse and misappropriation of medical research funds from the government.
The problem — which industry observers say is endemic in research — has caused hospitals to overhaul their compliance policies and add oversight. But it has also created more paperwork and administrative duties for researchers, some of whom are much-sought-after superstars who will grouse at the additional burden.
The stakes for proper compliance are enormous. Not only does a research institution face criminal prosecution and loss of reputation in such cases, but a scandal-tainted hospital is much less likely to get federal funding in the future. Hospitals have only recently started implementing robust compliance programs and accounting controls.

Read this complete article from the KPMG Health Care Insider 

Whistleblowers Received $170 Million In Fiscal 2005; More Than $1 Billion Recovered By Federal Government, Attorney Timothy J. McInnis Reports

NEW YORK CITY – Individuals and businesses who blew the whistle on contract, program and other schemes to defraud the federal Government were awarded nearly $170 million in fiscal 2005, according to New York City Attorney Timothy J. McInnis, Esq., whose national legal practice concentrates on representing whistleblowers by filing fraud-against-government cases under Qui Tam provisions of the False Claims Act.
Some $1.1 billion was recovered by the Government via whistleblower claims in the fiscal year that ended in September 2005, according to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, and 2006 is shaping up to be even bigger, said McInnis, a former federal prosecutor who handles whistleblower-revealed fraud in all types of Government programs and purchasing.
The False Claims Act, which dates back to the Civil War, was substantially strengthened in 1986 to better reward and protect whistleblowers who bring knowledge of fraud to the Government via attorneys like McInnis. Individuals and entities who defraud the Government by claiming federal funds to which they know they aren’t entitled are liable for three times the Government’s loss and penalties up to $11,000 for each false claim, McInnis explained.
Read The Complete News Release 

2006 False Claims Act Recoveries Could Set A Record — Corporate Crime Reporter

Note: Timothy J. McInnis, Esq. is a long-time member of Taxpayers Against Fraud, sits on the Washington, D.C.-based organization’s six-person TAF Advisory Committee, and lead a panel discussion at its 2005 annual meeting.
Read

Timothy J. McInnis, Esq. Testifies Before The New York City Council Committee on Government Operations In Support of Intro. 346, The New York City False Claims Act

Timothy J. McInnis, Esq. testifies as both a private attorney concentrating on Qui Tam and on behalf of the DC-based organization Taxpayers Against Fraud (“TAF”), the nonprofit national organization that supports False Claims Act whistleblowers and their attorneys. McInnis is a member of the Board of Advisors of TAF.
Timothy J. McInnis’ Testimony Before NYC Councilman David Yassky’s Committee (PDF)

Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) Lecture by Timothy J. McInnis, Esq.

” Whistleblowing, Qui Tam and Employment Retaliation Cases, Potential Opportunities and Hidden Landmines” (Primarily For Plaintiffs’ Counsel) 

Whistleblowers Receive $319 Million for “Doing The Right Thing.” McInnis Law looks at False Claims Act Recoveries in Fiscal Year 2003, based on the most recent U.S. Department of Justice news release.

$319 Million Paid to Whistleblowers 

Successful Cases from McInnis Law

Applied Consulting, Inc. Applied CaseManagement, Inc. 
Cabrini Medical Center 
Catskill Regional Medical Center 
Center for Pain Management 
Columbia University 
M.L. Energia, Inc. and Moshe Lavid, Ph.d. 
McTish, Kunkle & Associates 
Montefiore Medical Center 
The Mount Vernon Hospital 
New York City Landlords 
Victory Memorial Hospital