Reduce Risk From Federal and State Civil False Claims Acts: Recent Changes are Cause for Concern
In the past two years, there have been major changes in the civil False Claims Act and how it is enforced. These changes have resulted in increased compliance and enforcement risks for all government contractors doing business with government agencies, or whose projects are funded with government money.
This 90-minute program will outline the changes to the federal and state False Claims Act statutes and related regulations; the increased enforcement resources and resulting explosion of new cases; changes in enforcement practices; cost and pricing issues that are troublesome for government contractors; and the growing importance of compliance and ethics programs for companies at risk. You will also take away some practical tips on key issues that have attracted enforcement agency attention, and steps you can take to keep your company out of the cross hairs.
Christopher A. Myers & Patrick McGeehin
Christopher A. Myers, partner, is Chair of Holland & Knight’s Compliance Services Team and a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense Team. He is a former federal prosecutor and has represented clients in a broad range of complex matters affecting heavily-regulated industries, including healthcare & life sciences, government contracts, financial institutions, educational institutions, publicly-traded and privately held companies doing business both domestically and internationally. He has defended and protected organizations in both internal and external civil and criminal fraud investigations, design, implementation and assessments of compliance and ethics programs; voluntary disclosures, and corporate governance matters.
Patrick McGeehin, CPA, is a senior managing director in the Forensic and Litigation Consulting practice of FTI Consulting, Inc. He consults on government contract and litigation support matters, and provides contract claims assistance and litigation support services relating to the calculation of and approach to damages. These damages include breach of contract, lost profits, requests for equitable damages in delay and disruption cases, and fraud-related issues. His primary emphasis is in the construction and government contracts industries, although he has experience consulting and testifying in other business sectors.
Learning Objectives
- Changes to the False Claims Act that make it easier for enforcement agencies to bring actions against construction industry companies
- Specific cases targeting contractors, subcontractors, grantees and others who receive funds from government programs
- The growing trend of combining civil False Claims Act enforcement against companies with criminal prosecution of individuals involved
- The increased dangers of suspension/debarment proceedings against both companies and individual executives and board members
- Recent trends in audits of companies’ compliance and ethics programs
- Practical tips on how to avoid becoming enmeshed in very expensive and distracting investigations
- How you can use an effective compliance and ethics program to generate agency goodwill and increase new business opportunities
- Specific cost accounting and pricing issues that can prove troublesome and are the subject matter of false claims investigations; funded projects
- And much, much more!
Who Will Benefit
This webinar is a must if you’re a federal, state or public owner; a contractor, subcontractor, grantee or consultant; or are a government employee involved in contracting. Register below to gain key insights from our knowledgeable experts on how to deal with the risks of False Claims Acts.
