About our Law Firm:

The Hesch Firm exclusively represents whistleblowers nationwide who wish to report fraud and file for rewards

The following are examples of the whistleblower fraud cases Joel D. Hesch has worked on while at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and currently in private practice representing whistleblowers, totaling over $1.7 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) judgments or settlements and paid out over $265 million in whistleblower rewards.

  • $641 million recovery against the nation’s largest chain of hospitals that allegedly defrauded Medicare under a wide variety of cost report fraud and other schemes, in which $120 million was paid to whistleblowers (1)
  • $430 million recovery from oil companies to settle allegations that they falsely reporting royalties owed to the government, in which more than $70 million was paid to whistleblowers (2)
  • $250 million settlement with a large pharmaceutical company for allegedly overcharging Medicaid for drugs, with the whistleblower receiving nearly $40 million(3)
  •  $126 million case where a pharmaceutical company allegedly failed to report the 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)
  • $65 million settlement with a home health care company, in which the whistleblower received $12.35 million (5)
  • $60 million settlement against a company which allegedly improperly characterized contract work as Independent Research and Development (6)
  • $55 million recovery against a company which allegedly defrauded the government in negotiating the contract price for the production of helicopter flight simulators, and the whistleblower received nearly $10 million (7)
  • $40 million settlement of allegations that companies were manufacturing, marketing and selling knee replacement devices that had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in which the whistleblower received over $7 million (5)
  • $34 million judgment where a clinic paid illegal kickback payments to recruiters, who in turn paid people to show up at the clinic who were not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid and did not require medical services, in order for the clinic to bilk government healthcare programs (5)
  • $24 million settlement with a long term acute care hospital chain (LTCH or LTACH) for allegedly admitting patients who did not meet the Medicare criteria for admission to a long term acute care hospital, in which the whistleblower received $4.85 million (5)
  • $11.9 million settlement with a company and an individual who allegedly defrauded the Department of Agriculture and the Farmers Home Administration (“FmHA”) by submitting false information to obtain relief loans (7)
  • $10 million judgment against several companies and individuals who allegedly defrauded the NASA space shuttle program through a variety of fraudulent schemes (7)
  • $8 million settlement against a Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH), in which the whistleblower received over $2 million (5), (8)
  • $5 million settlement against a company that provided free or discounted transportation services to induce Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to seek treatment at the company’s inpatient detoxification and rehabilitation programs or intensive outpatient program. The whistleblower reward was $875,000. (5)

The Hesch Firm also helped other whistleblowers obtain rewards, such as turning in a competitor for violating the Trade Agreement Act and Buy American Act by supplying the government with items made in China and employees reporting kickback schemes.
(Past results do not guarantee future results. See also the “disclaimer” in the footer.)


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 more than $350 million. The total amount paid to the whistleblowers under the combined cases was $120 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 spent 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. The Hesch Firm represented the whistleblower.


6. Mr. Hesch worked with a small team of several other DOJ Civil Fraud Section attorneys on these matters.


7. Mr. Hesch was a lead DOJ Civil Fraud Section attorney on these matters.


8. The Hesch Firm represented the whistleblower. Medicare pays a higher rate to LTACHs provided they meet certain requirements, including having inpatient length of stay greater than 25 days. It is fraudulent to make it appear that LTACHs meet the 25-day average stay when they do not.