“Despite their vast resources, we take on the
most powerful corporations in the United States
and the world. Our attorneys make sure the
truth is told and convince judges and juries
that our client’s case is righteous.”
Robert J. Nelson, Partner and Chair of
the False Claims Act Practice Group
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"One of the nation's premier plaintiffs' firms."
American Lawyer
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"Representing the best qualities of the plaintiffs' bar."
The National Law Journal
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"Their effective and caring advocacy for clients has earned Lieff Cabraser its first-class reputation."
The Daily Journal
Practice Areas
False Claims Act
Upholding the Public Trust
The False Claims Act prohibits persons from defrauding the federal government by knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to officers, employees or agents of the federal government a false and fraudulent claim for payment or approval. The act is designed to prevent damages to the U.S. Treasury by causing the U.S. to pay out money it was not obligated to pay.
Robert Nelson Wins Record Settlement in False Claims Act Whistleblower Lawsuit
Violations of the False Claims Act can result in judgment against a defendant in an amount equal to three times the amount of damages the U.S. Treasury sustained, plus civil fines. We will bring cases involving fraudulent activity in health care, military and defense contracting, and Title IV funding, to name but a few areas.
Lieff Cabraser has an active practice representing whistleblowers in False Claims Act cases. For confidentiality reasons, we do not list several of our current False Claims Act cases, which remain under investigation by the United States Department of Justice.
In addition to bringing cases pursuant to the Federal False Claims Act, we also bring claims on behalf of state governments that have been defrauded. Several states, including California, have qui tam statutes similar to the Federal False Claims Act, and it is not uncommon for Lieff Cabraser to bring a false claims act case on behalf of a state when we represent a Relator whose evidence demonstrates that a state is being defrauded. Sometimes we will bring a case on behalf of both the federal and state governments.
Finally, under the financial reform legislation enacted in 2010, known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, any individual, or two or more individuals acting jointly, who provides the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or other government agencies about a violation of federal securities laws that leads to a successful enterrement action in excess of $1 million by the government, are entitled to a reward. The recovery in the whistleblower case can be from 10 to 30 percent of the amount the government collects.
