Federal Magistrate Judge Grants Government Late Intervention in Health Care Fraud Case
- August 14, 2020
- Chris C. Sabis , Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison PLC
Under the False Claims Act (FCA), the United States gets an initial 60-day period to determine whether to intervene in a whistleblower’s qui tam action, during which time the complaint remains under seal. Although the government sometimes makes an intervention decision during this period, the Department of Justice (DOJ) usually seeks extensions of the seal to further consider its options. The FCA allows the United States to ask courts for such extensions “for good cause shown.” In the vast majority of these cases, the government uses the additional time to conduct an investigation of the relator’s sealed complaint, and sometimes to initiate a parallel criminal investigation. Government investigations often include witness interviews, Medicare/Medicaid/TRICARE or other data analysis, and the issuance of Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to the defendant and third parties seeking documents, deposition testimony, or answers to interrogatories related to the whistleblower’s allegations.
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