Biography of Joel D. Hesch

Joel Hesch devoted over fifteen years (1990 to 2006) as a Trial Attorney with the Civil Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C. This is the office responsible for the nationwide DOJ whistleblower reward program under the False Claims Act. His DOJ experience translates into over 25,000 hours directly analyzing and pursuing alleged fraud against 20 different federal agencies. Mr. Hesch personally worked on fraud cases resulting in over a billion dollars ($1,000,000,000.00) in judgments and recoveries on behalf of the federal government, and which paid out more than $250 million in rewards to citizens for reporting fraud. While at DOJ, Mr. Hesch was appointed to the national "Pharmaceutical Fraud Team" and was asked to provide testimony on behalf of DOJ in a court proceeding as to the meaning and application of the False Claims Act's "Public Disclosure Bar" and "Original Source Exception." He has also written a scholarly law review article proposing a standard for the courts to follow when applying the Public Disclosure Bar or Original Source Exception. This article was cited five times by a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Rockwell v. United States. 

When the then largest whistleblower case in history was being pursued, the Director of the Civil Fraud Section turned to Mr. Hesch to join a team of select DOJ attorneys. They recovered $641 million from one company. For his effort, Mr. Hesch received a Special Commendation Award for outstanding service. During his career, Mr. Hesch also received a Meritorious Award and was twice bestowed the Special Achievement Award for sustained and superior performance of duty in combating fraud. Mr. Hesch also received an award frm NASA for his efforts in combatting fraud under the Space Shuttle Program, and numerous community service awards, including a Presidential Point of Light award. He received voluntary services awards from the following United States Attorney Generals: John Ashcroft, Dick Thornburgh, William Barr, and Janet Reno.

The Director of the Civil Frauds Section made these statements in Mr. Hesch's work appraisals:

"As has been true for many years, Mr. Hesch continues to show dedication to the office's mission of combating fraud and to working selflessly on whatever cases can best utilize his talents. We recognize and appreciate his fine efforts. . . .  Mr. Hesch is a delightful colleague and has the ability to work well on a team as well as independently. . . .  Joel has significantly exceeded expectations."

At the end of fiscal year 2006, Mr. Hesch left a rewarding career with the DOJ to become a law school professor with Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, VA. He also represents whistleblowers under the government reward programs. In 2008, he submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the claim of a whistleblower.

DOJ Fraud Recoveries, Settlements and Judgments

Below are highlights of the variety of fraud cases Mr. Hesch worked on while at the DOJ.

  • $641 million recovery against the nation's largest chain of hospitals that defrauded Medicare under a wide variety of cost report fraud and other schemes, in which $150 million in rewards were paid to whistleblowers;1
  • $430 million in payments from oil companies falsely reporting royalties owed to the government, in which over $70 million in rewards were paid to whistleblowers;2
  • $250 million settlement with a large pharmaceutical company for overcharging Medicaid for drugs, and the whistleblower receives nearly $40 million;3
  • $126 million case where a pharmaceutical company failed to report its lowest or "best price" of its drugs sold to private companies, a price which the government was entitled to receive under the Medicaid Rebate statute, and the whistleblower received over $12 million;4
  • $60 million settlement against a company which improperly characterized contract work as Independent Research and Development;5
  • $55 million recovery against a company which defrauded the government in negotiating the contract price for the production of helicopter flight simulators, and the whistleblower received nearly $10 million;5
  • $11.9 million settlement with a company and an individual who defrauded the Department of Agriculture and the Farmers Home Administration ("FmHA") by submitting false information to obtain relief loans;6
  • $10 million judgment against several companies and individuals who defrauded the NASA space shuttle program through a variety of fraudulent schemes;6
  • $6.75 million recovery against a major corporation for failing to test parts used by the military;7
  • $6.5 million settlement with a leading teaching hospital which shifted federal grant money between grants without approval of the government;8
  • $5.1 million settlement with university that used specially designated federal grant funds for general operating expenses instead of the stated purpose of the grant;6
  • $4.75 million recovery from a corporation hired to repair military aircraft for concealing that expensive parts entrusted to it were missing;6
  • $4.1 million jury verdict that a large company hired to manage a nuclear weapons plant submitted false claims by concealing environmental violations in order to obtain bonuses for good performance;8
  • $3.9 million settlement against a hospital that violated the anti-kickback statute by paying for referrals and for billing for services not covered by Medicare;7
  • $2.75 million settlement with a group of doctors who allegedly submitted bills for work they did not actually perform;6
  • $2.75 million settlement of allegations that a hospital routinely added a service that was not medically necessary to Medicare bills;6
  • $2.5 million recovery against a company which failed to test aircraft parts prior to use in military aircraft;6
  • $2 million effective recovery against a prime contractor for recklessly submitting fraudulent costs of a subcontractor;6
  • $1.68 million settlement with a company which reused old parts when remodeling a federal building (including $780,000 from a company hired to monitor the project);6
  • $1.5 million recovery against a company which submitted false overhead rate information;6
  • $1.5 million settlement with a company that lied about the hours and effort spent conducting a surveys for an agency;7
  • $1.4 million settlement under the Medicare program against a home health corporation which included improper costs in its cost reports;6
  • $700,000 settlement against a company that failed to properly heat treat manufactured parts;9
  • $526,000 settlement against an oxygen supply company that improperly performed the tests to determine if elderly people really needed to be on portable oxygen unites instead of them being done by an independent entity;10

Other cases include recoveries from aircraft manufacturer for failing to test nuts and bolts expected to be used in military aircraft, for improperly charging NASA and DoD for work not actually performed, for falsifying data regarding tests conducted upon artillery fuses used by the military, for charging commercial projects to various Air Force, Army and Navy contracts, and for mis-charging labor cost under various military contracts.

Footnotes:

  1. Mr. Hesch spent 2,000 hours on that case, working primarily with a team of 8 other DOJ Civil Fraud Section attorneys on the Medicare cost report fraud allegations. Of the settlement, the cost report fraud portion was valued at over $350 million. The total amount paid to each of the Relators under the combined cases was $150 million.
  2. Mr. Hesch was originally assigned as the lead DOJ Civil Fraud Section attorney, and served in that capacity for the first year of the case, until he was assigned to conduct a six week jury trial in another whistleblower case. Another DOJ attorney took over the lead in this case.
  3. Mr. Hesch was one of two DOJ attorneys assigned to this case. Mr. Hesch spend hundreds of hours investigating the allegations and began settlement negotiations with the drug company prior his departing DOJ. The case settled after he left the government.
  4. Mr. Hesch provided limited support on the case before the defendant agreed to settle, but was specifically assigned to the case to determine how much of a reward to pay the whistleblower. The federal portion of the case was $75 million and the state Medicaid portion was $51 million.
  5. Mr. Hesch worked with a small team of several other DOJ Civil Fraud Section attorneys on these matters.
  6. Mr. Hesch was a lead DOJ Civil Fraud Section attorney on these matters.
  7. This case was assigned primarily to an Assistant United States Attorney, with Mr. Hesch monitoring the case and making recommendations.
  8. Mr. Hesch and two other DOJ Civil Fraud Section attorneys personally handled the trial on this matter.
  9. Mr. Hesch was originally assigned as the lead DOJ Civil Fraud Section attorney. However, because of other priority cases, he transferred this case to another DOJ attorney.
  10. The case was originally handled jointly between Mr. Hesch and an AUSA. On the eve of settlement, Mr. Hesch delegated the case for administrative purposes.

 Mr. Hesch conducted DOJ fraud investigations affecting these agencies:

  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) [formerly HCFA]
  • Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Department of the Air Force
  • Department of the Army
  • Department of Defense (DOD)
  • Department of Education
  • Department of Energy (DOE)
  • Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
  • Department of the Interior
  • Department of the Navy
  • Department of the Treasury
  • Department of Transportation
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA) [now known as CMS]
  • Health and Human Services (HHS)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
  • Small Business Administration (SBA)
  • TRICARE Management Activity

Additional background and legal qualifications:

Mr. Hesch graduated 5th in his Washington D.C. law school class, and is licensed to practice in Washington D.C., Maryland (currently inactive status), and before many federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. District Courts of Washington D.C. and Maryland (currently inactive status).

Mr. Hesch is a member of the American Bar Association and Christian Legal Society.