Nationwide Qui Tam Litigation, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid & Medicare Billing Fraud

Berg & Androphy

3704 Travis Street
Houston, Texas 77002-9550
USA

(713) 529-5622

(713) 529-3785

www.bafirm.com

Contact Joel Androphy

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Law Firm Overview

Berg & Androphy is an experienced national law firm with offices in Texas, Colorado, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and New York. The firm tries big cases. Our lawyers have represented individuals in nationwide qui tam cases against companies that have defrauded federal and state governments. Our track record is a point of pride with us. Opposing lawyers know we do not hesitate to try a case to verdict, most often with extraordinary results. That reputation adds value to the cases we accept. We link our fees to our results in qui tam cases, through contingency fees. Obviously, we cannot guarantee the result of any case, but we do guarantee our commitment to each case in our office.

We have represented individuals throughout the United States in qui tam cases against large multinational companies that have defrauded federal and state governments. We have also represented victims of catastrophic personal injuries, and executives and others accused of White Collar Crime.

Our track record is a point of pride with us. We have won virtually every case we have tried or obtained a superb settlement along the way. Opposing lawyers know we do not hesitate to "tee it up" and try a case to verdict, most often with extraordinary results. That reputation adds value to the cases we accept.

Year this Office was Established: 1985

Languages: English

Areas of Law

Additional Areas of Law: Mail Fraud; Obstruction of Justice; Bank Secrecy Act; Bank Crimes; Securities Fraud; Antitrust Offenses; False Entries; False Financial Statements; Financial Privacy Act; Continuing Criminal Enterprise Offenses; Hobbs Act; Travel Act; National Stolen Property Act; Tax Crimes; Bankruptcy Crimes; Export Offenses; Environmental Crimes; Trademark Violations; Copyright Violations; Import & Export Offenses; Environmental Offenses; Pollution Protection Act; Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Toxic Substances Control Act; Compensation and Liability Act; Forfeiture; Federal Contempt of Court; Criminal Trade Secret Violations; Public Corruption; Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act Violations; Attorney Liability; Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; Health Care Fraud; Medicaid / Medicare Fraudulent Billing; Defense Contractor / Military / Government Procurement; Prevailing Wage Act; Education Fraud; Scientific Research; SEC & IRS Whistleblower Cases; Drug Injuries; Exposure to Toxins; Forgery; Forfeiture.

Areas of Law Description

Berg & Androphy provides legal representation and services in the following areas of practice:

- Complex Commercial Litigation

Commercial litigation is the broad area of law that deals with resolving disputes in commercial settings stemming from professional and commercial relationships through alternative dispute resolution methods and court trials. Commercial litigation can cover a wide variety of civil and criminal law matters on both state and federal levels.

- Qui Tam Litigation

The firm of Berg & Androphy has extensive involvement in prosecuting qui tam cases. The firm represents whistleblowers nationwide in many large health care fraud cases as well as other types of cases involving fraud against the government. The firm handles all cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning that the firm earns a fee only if it is successful for the whistleblower. Types of cases we handle:

*Medicaid / Medicare Fraudulent Billing
Fraud and abuse accounts for almost ten percent of total Government Medicaid and Medicare spending on healthcare, or approximately $120 billion per year. The potential harm caused by fraud in the Medicaid / Medicare healthcare industry cannot be overstated: total spending on healthcare for 2002 alone reached $1.5 trillion.

*Environmental Regulation Qui Tam
Although involving significant amounts of federal funds, environmental regulation is a major challenge for the Government. One reason why the Government faces this hardship is that many violations of environmental statutes and regulations are difficult or prohibitively expensive for the Government to detect. The enforcement arms of federal and state environmental agencies are often underfunded and understaffed. Moreover, there are also political concerns about enforcement. False Claims Act liability in the environmental arena does not arise from a violation of an environmental regulation alone, but from certifications that require the government contactor to follow certain statutes, rules and regulations.

*Defense Contractor / Military / Government Procurement Qui Tam
The vast amount of fraud against the United States military in the procurement of the necessities of the Civil War, such as ships, food, and supplies, provided the impetus for the enactment of the original FCA in 1863. The Government was concerned not only with the millions of dollars lost, but also with the safety of soldiers. In light of the massive fraud on the United States Military, Congress enacted the FCA to deter and punish wrongdoers and reimburse the Government for its losses.

*Prevailing Wage Act Qui Tam
The purpose of prevailing wage laws is to prevent contractors and subcontractors from landing profitable government projects, by bidding lower than their competitors at the expense of their employees. Under the Federal prevailing wage laws, contractors and subcontractors must pay local prevailing wages to their employees who work under Federal government contracts of certain dollar amounts.

*Education Fraud and the FCA
FCA liability arises in the area of educational fraud where educational institutions violate the Higher Education Act of 1965 (“HEA”) or knowingly make false promises to become eligible to receive government funds. When an educational institution seeks subsidies under the HEA, it is required to enter into a Program Participation Agreement with the Department of Education, and abide by various statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements. Educational institutions often violate HEA’s ban on incentive compensation, i.e., paying recruiters based on the number of students recruited. This ban is intended to reduce the number of under qualified students who will derive little benefit from the subsidy and who will face considerable obstacles repaying federally guaranteed loans.

*Oil, Gas & Mining Qui Tam
Qui tam False Claims Act imposing liability on a defendant in connection with underpaying royalty payments to the Government typically involve amounts owed for use of minerals, oil, and gas on public lands. Most of the reported cases involve the defendant entering into oil and gas leases with Indian Tribes. The Government, through the Mineral Management Service (MMS) agency, acts as a fiduciary for Indian Tribes with respect to royalty payments due on these leases. As part of this duty, the agency collects the royalties, ensures the accuracy of the payments through an auditing system, and remits the royalty payments to the tribe. Because the royalty payments are made to a federal agency on behalf of the Tribes, False Claims Act liability may be imposed on a defendant who underpays the royalties even though the Government does not have an ongoing interest in the funds, and the Government does not suffer a loss.

*Scientific Research Qui Tam
The cases in this area involve the liability of hospitals and universities for false information in obtaining federal funding for research. These cases generally involve the reimbursement of research expenditures by hospitals conducting federally funded medical research, or universities with research grants from the National Institute of Health (“NIH”).

- SEC Whistleblower Cases

Due to the Financial Crisis over the past few years, the United States has turned a critical eye towards finding and punishing fraud arising from the financial sector, either from the misuse of TARP funds, or violations of the SEC or the CFTC regulations. To accomplish this, the government has offered substantial rewards and protections as an incentive for individuals with knowledge of financial fraud.

- IRS Whistleblower Cases

In December 2006, Congress passed the Extension of Tax Relief Act of 2006 (“Tax Relief Act of 2006”), which contained a whistleblower reform provision (Section 406) amending Title 26 U .S.C. Section 7623 to include whistleblowers. These amendments authorize the IRS to create a Whistleblower Office to process tips received from individuals who “spot tax problems in their workplace, while conducting day-to-day personal business, or anywhere else they may be encountered.” Furthermore, the IRS is now currently authorized to pay such sums as deemed necessary for “(1) detecting underpayments of tax, and (2) detecting and bringing to trial and punishment persons guilty of violating the internal revenue laws or conniving of the same.

- White Collar Criminal Defense

The White Collar Criminal Defense Practice at Berg & Androphy has a proven track record of success in defending businesses and individuals against criminal investigations and regulatory actions. Increased coordination between regulatory, civil, and criminal enforcement requires representation that brings together subject-matter expertise, counseling, and the ability to coordinate the defense of complex matters.

- Appeals

Berg & Androphy has successfully represented parties in civil and criminal fraud cases in federal and state appeals. Joel M. Androphy is the author of a 6 volume treatise on white collar crime and a treatise of civil fraud that cite thousands of appellate cases in all jurisdictions around the country.

- Personal Injury

Personal injury litigation can be broken into three broad categories: negligence, intentional acts and strict liability "torts". The word "tort" refers to a legal cause of action -- the wrongful act of another person which entitled an injured party to seek damages through the courts. The attorneys at Berg & Androphy have represented both plaintiffs and defendants in complex personal injury cases.

Attorneys

	Mr. Joel M Androphy Attorney Commercial Litigation, Qui Tam Litigation, Healthcare Fraud, White Collar Defense		Mr. David H Berg Founding Attorney Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property, Patents, Personal Injury
	Geoffrey Berg Attorney Commercial Litigation, Employment, Litigation, Personal Injury, Trade Secrets Litigation		Sarah M. Frazier Attorney Business and Industry, Commercial Law, Criminal Defense, Employees Rights, Medicare and Medicaid
	Christopher L. Gadoury Attorney Commercial Litigation, Employment, Financial Litigation, Litigation, Personal Injury		Ashley L. Gargour Attorney Bankruptcy, Civil Litigation, White Collar Crime, Qui Tam Litigation
	Rachel L. Grier Attorney Civil Litigation, Litigation, Qui Tam False Claims Act, White Collar Crime, Qui Tam Litigation		Stephanie A. Gutheinz Attorney Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation, White Collar Crime
	Noelle C. Letteri Attorney Qui Tam False Claims Act, Whistleblower		Kathryn Nelson Attorney Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation, Personal Injury, Qui Tam False Claims Act