Health Care Continues to Drive False Claims Act Recoveries: Thought Leaders in Health Law Video Series
In a matter of first impression, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals interpreted the scope of the 2018 Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) in the context of a lab operator who allegedly paid marketers to induce...more
On July 11, 2025, in United States v. Schena,[1] the Ninth Circuit adopted an expansive interpretation of the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA), applying the law to any payment that could have the effect of...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that a laboratory owner’s payments to marketing intermediaries violated the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA)—in its first interpretation of the statute...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
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has reported that in 2020, the government prosecuted dozens of laboratory owners and operators for anti-kickback related offenses responsible for hundreds of millions in alleged federal...more
On May 26, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in six states for participation in healthcare fraud schemes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The coordinated takedown involved...more
William F. Gould In United States v. Merino, No. 19-50291, 2021 WL 754589 (9th Cir. Feb. 26, 2021), the court of appeals reversed the conviction of Marina Merino of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in violation of 18...more
Compliance Today (March 2020) - In January, Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division announced that it “obtained more than $3 billion in settlements and judgments from civil...more