From the Editor’s Desk: Compliance Week’s Insights and Reflections from July to August 2025
AI and the False Claims Act
False Claims Act Insights - Bitter Pills: DOJ Targets Pharmacies for FCA Enforcement
Hospice Insights Podcast - Election Inspection: Be Proactive to Avoid Costly Election Statement Denials
The Trend of Threatening Physicians for Personal Gain
Daily Compliance News: June 17, 2025, The JBS Goes Public Edition
False Claims Act Insights - Will Recent Leadership Changes Lead to FCA Enforcement Policy Changes?
Daily Compliance News: June 16, 2025, The Golden Share Edition
Hospice Insights Podcast - Still Number One: Healthcare Fraud Remains Central in DOJ’s White Collar Enforcement Plan
False Claims Act Insights - How Payment Suspensions Can Impact FCA Litigation
Daily Compliance News: May 16, 2025, The Ethics Nightmare Edition
False Claims Act Insights - Trump DOJ Sharpens Its Focus on Healthcare Fraud
How Life Sciences Companies Can Create a Culture of Compliance When Expanding to the U.S. Market
False Claims Act Insights - DOJ’s Reliance on FCA to Pursue Covid-Related Fraud
UPIC Audits
Criminal Health Care Fraud Enforcement: Projections for 2025 and Beyond – Diagnosing Health Care Video Podcast
AGG Talks: Home Health & Hospice Podcast - Episode 10: Anti-Kickback Compliance for Hospice and Skilled Nursing Providers
False Claims Act Insights - Stranger Than Fiction? An FCA April Fools’ Day Episode
The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 53 - Diagnosis: Innocent – A Doctor’s Journey to Acquittal
False Claims Act Insights - Reality Checks: How to Approach Healthcare Transactions Without Triggering FCA Liability
On April 14th, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) conviction of Mark Sorensen, the owner and operator of a Medicare-registered durable medical equipment...more
On July 22, 2025, the Fourth Circuit published its opinion in United States v. Donald Booker, No. 23-461, affirming a 200-month prison sentence for the owner of United Youth Care Services, which billed North Carolina’s...more
On July 28, the federal district court in the Southern District of Ohio issued a pair of orders in related whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act (FCA): United States ex rel. Murphy v. TriHealth, Inc., et al., No....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in United States v. Regeneron, has joined the Sixth and Eighth Circuits in adopting the “but-for” standard to find that a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) triggers...more
In one of the few prosecutions based on the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA), and in an even rarer Court of Appeals opinion interpreting the statute, the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Schena, No. 23-2989, 2025...more
On July 11, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the criminal conviction of laboratory operator Mark Schena for violations of the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act, 18 U.S.C. § 220 (EKRA) based on...more
Hello again. Below are summaries from a variety of published Fifth Circuit cases from April 2025, along with a late addition from March. One benefit of releasing the April summaries in early June is that you get the Federal...more
What is the proper causation standard for an Anti-Kickback Statute violation to trigger liability under the False Claims Act? The First Circuit has answered that question in a much anticipated interlocutory decision in...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently rejected an effort by the federal government to extend the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) to a marketing company in the absence of influence by the company over...more
On April 14, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the conviction of the owner of a durable medical equipment (“DME”) distributor, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to support a...more
On April 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued its opinion in United States v. Sorensen, No. 24-1557, reversing the criminal conviction of Mark Sorensen, the owner of SyMed Inc., a...more
On April 14, 2025, the Seventh and Second Circuits each issued opinions narrowing the scope of advertising, marketing, and booking fee activities that run afoul of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). See United States v....more
Last month, the Eleventh Circuit (the “Court”) issued a decision in a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case against a medical supplier that offers welcome clarity for companies facing whistleblower allegations. In Vargas ex rel....more
A recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia continues to give significant deference to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) interpretation of the Anti-Kickback and...more
On April 14, 2025, the Second Circuit issued a summary order holding that the relator failed to plead scienter, a necessary element under the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the False Claims Act (FCA), where the defendant...more
Health care organizations working with marketers, independent sales representatives, advertising, and other consulting support to promote sales of products or services received welcomed news that their arrangements may be...more
Overview - In a significant decision, United States v. Sorensen, --- F.4th ----, 2025 WL 1099080 (7th Cir. Apr. 14, 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the conviction of Mark...more
Seventh Circuit Reverses AKS Conviction Involving Allegations of Illegal Marketing and Advertising - On April 14, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the criminal conviction of Mark Sorensen after a...more
On February 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit added its voice to a growing chorus of appellate courts to elevate the standard of proof required to show a violation of the federal False Claims Act in...more
There are still several unsettled legal issues regarding the standards applicable to a False Claims Act (FCA) claim, such as the standard to prove causation when an FCA claim is based on a violation of the Anti-Kickback...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently joined the Sixth Circuit (2023) and Eighth Circuit (2022) in holding that the term “resulting from” in the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) (as amended in...more
On February 18, 2025, the First Circuit joined the Sixth and Eighth Circuits in adopting a “but for” causation standard in cases involving per se liability under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the False Claims...more
On Feb. 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit adopted the “but for” causality standard for violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) that give rise to violations of the federal False Claims Act...more
In a much-anticipated decision, the First Circuit unanimously ruled the government and relators must prove that a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) was the “but-for” cause of a false claim under the False...more
In a closely watched appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on February 18 that to satisfy the causation requirement in False Claims Act (FCA) actions based on alleged Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS)...more