General Topics | Behn & Wyetzner, Chartered

Chicago Whistleblower Team Defeats Wall Street Banks’ Motion to Dismiss Municipal Bond Fraud Suit

February 5, 2019

The Illinois whistleblower lawsuit against multiple Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America, cleared a major hurdle after an Illinois court rejected the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case. The suit was filed by Edelweiss LLC under the Illinois False Claims Act, by Chicago attorney Michael Behn of Behn & Wyetzner, Chartered. (State of Illinois ex rel. Edelweiss LLC (Case No. 2017 L 000289).

Judge Diane Shelley of the Illinois state court in Chicago stated that Edelweiss’ whistleblower “complaint articulates in myriad detail how false claims could have been presented to the State of Illinois.”

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Michael Behn and Jim Holzrichter Featured on CBS News 48 Hours Program

July 29, 2018

On July 27, 2018 the CBS News program 48 Hours featured the gripping story behind the Northrop-Grumman case that lasted more than 16 years and settled for $134 million. The show features Michael Behn, of Behn & Wyetzner, Chtd. and our client Jim Holzrichter.

The program is part of a series on whistleblowers and “documents the long journeys of courageous heroes and corporate victims,” said Behn, a former federal prosecutor who has been representing whistleblowers for decades. “It is hosted by Alex Ferrer, a former judge and police officer, and is produced by Emmy-award winning producer Peter Bull. Alex and Peter understand how to tell a whistleblower’s reporting of a fraud to its true victims, the taxpaying public.”

The 48 Hours show is available on the CBS website, here.

Michael Behn Hosts Panel of Government Agency Experts, Discussing Whistleblowers, the False Claims Act, and Tips to Prosecute Fraud

November 7, 2017

The support of federal agencies is key to the successful prosecution of fraud and False Claims Act cases. Chicago whistleblower attorney, Michael Behn, of Behn & Wyetzner, Chtd. would know. He is a former federal prosecutor and has achieved extensive recoveries under the False Claims Act, on behalf of the government and his whistleblower clients. Behn recently sat down with prominent agency lawyers and investigators to discuss whistleblowers, the False Claims Act, and how best to prosecute fraud against the government. [Read more…]

Attorney Michael Behn Teams Government Agents with Whistleblowers at Inspectors General Training Session

September 27, 2017

Behn & Wyetzner attorney Michael Behn teamed with government investigators and whistleblowers at a training session hosted by the Illinois Association of Inspectors General. [Read more…]

The IRS Whistleblower Program Completes Its Tenth Year

February 2, 2017

For the past 10 years, since the enactment of Internal Revenue Service the IRS Whistleblower Office, the IRS has recovered over $3.4 billion because of information submitted by whistleblowers. Out of that sum, $465 million was awarded to whistleblowers. [Read more…]

SEC Whistleblower Program Posts Record Year

December 14, 2016

The SEC’s whistleblower program paid out a record $57 million to Medicaid Beneficiary Supreme Court Case - Behn & Wyetzner whistleblowers in Fiscal Year 2016. That figure is higher than all previous awards issued through the SEC whistleblower program combined.

According to the agency’s 2016 annual report to Congress, available here, the Office of the Whistleblower received over 4,200 tips and enforcement actions led to $584 million in financial sanctions. The number of tips the office received reflects a 40% increase over FY 2012, the first year the office recorded full-year data. According to the report, the increase in tips is due in large part to the growing awareness of the whistleblower program.

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Baby Boomers & Medicare Fraud

November 21, 2016

Baby Boomers and Medicare Fraud The human population is growing at a rapid pace, and in the U.S., this growing population is also aging. The babies born after the Second World War, often referred to as “Baby Boomers,” are now reaching retirement age and eligible for Medicare. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that almost 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 on a daily basis! That’s almost 90 million Baby Boomer eligible for Medicare by 2050. [Read more…]

Perspective on the Tax Gap and the Underutilized IRS Whistleblower Program

July 7, 2016

Internal Revenue Service In an April 2016 study released by the IRS, the government reported that an average of $406 billion in taxes was not collected each year between 2008 and 2010. The IRS euphemistically calls this the “tax gap,” i.e., the difference between what taxpayers owe and what they actually pay.

What does the tax gap mean to the average taxpayer? [Read more…]

Qui Tam Lawsuits Recover Billions for the Federal Government in FY 2015

January 9, 2016

Qui tam whistleblowers who filed cases under the False Claims Act returned nearly $3 billion into the federal treasury in Fiscal Year 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

False Claims Act cases in the areas of health care, hospital services, mortgage and financial industries, and defense contracting account for the largest part of recoveries. Whistleblower awards during 2015 totaled $597 million.

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Supreme Court to Decide “Implied Certification” Issue

December 8, 2015

Medicaid Beneficiary Supreme Court Case - Behn & Wyetzner SCOTUS to decide the issue of “implied certification” in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar

On December 4, 2015, the Supreme Court granted the defendant United Health Services’ Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to decide, among other things, the issue of whether the “implied certification” theory of legal falsity under the False Claims Act is viable.

Escobar involved a teenaged girl, a Medicaid beneficiary, who was treated by unlicensed workers who had held themselves out to be social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, when they were nothing of the sort. Treatment by these workers led to the girl’s death when she was prescribed a drug that caused her to have seizures, one of which was fatal.

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