Speaking Engagement

Government Contracts under the Microscope: Navigating Procurement Fraud and Mitigating Risk

Blank Rome partner Justin A. Chiarodo, chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice group, will serve as a speaker at the American Conference Institute’s (“ACI”) 11th Advanced Forum on False Claims and Qui Tam Enforcement, being held January 23 and 24, 2024, at the New York Bar Association in New York, New York. Blank Rome is pleased to be a sponsor of the Conference.

ABOUT THE FORUM

Although the 2022 recoveries did not match the $5.6 billion recovered in 2021, fiscal year 2022, at $2.2 billion in recoveries, marked the 14th straight year where recoveries exceeded two billion dollars. As in past years, this number comes primarily by recoveries in the healthcare industry. Notably, 2022 represented the second-highest number of settlements—351—for a single year in Department of Justice (“DOJ”) history. Moreover, the government and qui tam relators filed 948 new cases in 2022, surpassing the previous record set in 2020 (937). The False Claims Act (“FCA”) continues to be a powerful tool, and the statistics reflect a sustained appetite by relators to pursue FCA litigation even when the government declines to intervene.

The DOJ continues to ramp up its investigations of pandemic-related fraud, as well as its enforcement efforts against Medicare Advantage organizations and the telehealth industry. And the first DOJ cybersecurity fraud actions are being brought under the FCA—with a clear signal that more of these cases will be on the horizon.

By all accounts, these latest trends signal sustained and aggressive enforcement efforts by the government and qui tam relators alike.

Forum speakers will include government enforcers, cross-industry compliance and investigations counsel, and leading attorneys from the defense and relators’ bar who will share what can be done to prepare for the next wave of FCA enforcement.

ABOUT JUSTIN’S SESSION

Justin’s session, “Government Contracts under the Microscope: Navigating Procurement Fraud and Mitigating Risk,” will take place on Tuesday, January 23, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice recovered $377 million in one of the largest procurement fraud settlements in history. In today’s ever-evolving landscape of government contracting, ensuring transparency, accountability, and integrity is paramount. Topics of discussion include:

• Revisiting strategies for calculating statutory penalties and actual damages following the Ninth Circuit’s clarifications in U.S. ex rel. Hendrix v. J-M Manufacturing Co.
• Analyzing the nexus between costs charged to a government contract and the objective of the contract to avoid allegations of overcharging or misallocation of resources
• Applying theories of damages relating to subpar goods or services, and defenses against them
• Assessing theories to hold the prime contractor liable for a failure to oversee a subcontractor, and ensuring compliance and avoiding false certification throughout the supply chain and/or procurement processes
• Understanding admissions of factual liability and explicit rejections of legal liability in the Settlement Agreement

Speakers:

• Jaime Raich, Chief Counsel, Global Investigations, GE Aerospace; Former AUSA, Southern District of FL
• Justin Chiarodo, Partner, Blank Rome LLP

For more information and to register, please visit the event webpage.