September 3rd, 2010

Qui Tam / Whistleblower action results in $600M and a misdemeanor

A qui tam  (think “whistleblower”) action allows a whistleblower (known as a “relator” in a qui tam action) who is aware of fraud being committed against the Government to report the fraud and receive a percentage of the recovery.   The bottom line to private citizens is that by reporting the fraud, you can sometimes share in millions of dollars of the recovery.  While this is a simplistic description of a “qui tam” action,  it is not as simple as it sounds, so be sure to consult with a lawyer who is experienced in fraud investigations and qui tam actions before approaching the Government — plus most qui tam statutes require the action to be brought by an attorney.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta announced a settlement of a what began as a qui tam action in which pharmaceutical company Allergan agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor (the least serious federal crime) and pay criminal and civil fines and forfeitures of $600,000,000.  According to the press release, Allergan engaged in “off label” promotion of Botox, which means the company was promoting the  biological product for uses that had not been approved by the FDA.

September 2nd, 2010

Gov’t may try to revoke T.I.’s Supervised Release

The Rapper T.I. was arrested on drug charges for allegedly possessing a controlled substance that was discovered during a traffic stop. T.I. was on supervised release after pleading guilty to a gun charge in federal court in Atlanta. Supervised release is different probation, but if the Government successfully seeks to revoke the period of supervised release, T.I. could serve more time in jail for this relatively minor offense than he did for the more serious gun charge.

June 12th, 2009

Atlanta Criminal Lawyer

The Rice Law Firm, LLC was established by Richard A. Rice, Jr., an Atlanta criminal defense lawyer, to represent individuals and companies in Atlanta, the Southeast, and across the nation. Contact us if you or your business are in need of representation related to criminal investigations, prosecutions, or civil or commercial disputes.

See also: Atlanta Criminal Lawyer