False Claims Act & Whistleblower Defense

• Representing national physician staffing company in False Claims Act investigation brought by the United States Department of Justice. Convinced the United States to decline intervention and currently litigating matter against Relator.
• Represented one of the country’s largest postsecondary education providers in False Claims Act litigation.*
• Representing provider of hospital based physical therapy services in defense of False Claims Act lawsuit.
• Successfully resolved False Claims Act case involving an electronic health records software company whose platform caused the submission of false claims.*
• Representing mortgage lender in defense of False Claims Act lawsuit.
• Successful resolution of qui tam action against hospital alleging violation of False Claims Act relating to emergency medical services.
• Advised large healthcare provider in a False Claims Act investigation and response to civil investigative demand.
• Represented executive of large physician practice management company in False Claims Act investigation alleging violations of the Anti-Kickback statute. Negotiated resolution that afforded the client a complete release of any liability under the False Claims Act and convinced the HHS-OIG that executive should not be excluded from the Medicare program.
• Successfully resolved False Claims Act case involving a South Carolina hospital for false claims related to radiation oncology and emergency department services.*
• Successfully investigated and litigated False Claims Act case against ophthalmologist who submitted false claims for medically unnecessary cataract surgeries and falsely diagnosing patients with glaucoma to justify unnecessary diagnostic testing.*
• Successfully resolved False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act civil penalty case involving a large pharmacy for abusing emergency prescription regulations in order to illegally dispense controlled substances at long-term care facilities.*
• Successfully resolved False Claims Act case involving a skilled nursing facility for submitting false claims for medically unnecessary therapy services.*
• Successfully resolved False Claims Act case involving an Atlanta dentist who submitted false claims to Medicaid for medically unnecessary tooth extraction procedures.*
• Obtained favorable ruling from a federal district court denying a whistleblower’s three-year effort to expand the scope of his federal False Claims Act action against a national physician staffing company from a Georgia-specific action to encompass all of the healthcare provider’s facilities nationwide, thus greatly limiting the provider’s financial exposure. In route, through lengthy motions practice, the Parker Hudson team successfully persuaded the court to reverse multiple of its own orders that were adverse to the provider. 
• Obtained favorable summary judgment order in Federal False Claims Act retaliation action brought by former employee against a major Georgia health system in federal district court. Although the court permitted a limited breach-of-contract claim to proceed, the Parker Hudson team’s efforts successfully limited the vast majority of the healthcare provider’s financial exposure.
• Successfully limited the scope of a vast, multi-theory federal False Claims Act action brought by a former chief compliance officer against a durable medical equipment company in federal district court. Additionally, successfully defeated plaintiff-relator’s efforts to dismiss healthcare provider’s counterclaims. Proceedings remain ongoing.
• Successfully resolved False Claims Act case involving a large bank for falsely certifying that it had complied with underwriting and quality control requirements in originating FHA loans during the financial crisis.*
• Successfully resolved False Claims Act case involving multiple municipal workforce development agencies based upon abuse of Department of Labor on-the-job training grant funds.*

* Denotes lawyers' experience prior to joining Parker Hudson.

• Client Alert, DOJ Launches Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, Signaling New Risks for Healthcare Providers (May 22, 2025)
• David A. O’Neal, featured, "DOJ Puts New Target On Medicare Advantage 'Steering'," Law360 Healthcare Authority (May 13, 2025)
• David A. O’Neal, panelist, "Enforcement Panel," Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys (GAHA) 2025 Annual Meeting and Health Law Update, Georgia Hospital Association (May 9, 2025)
• David A. O’Neal, co-presenter, "The Promise and Peril of Telehealth: Practice, Reimbursement, and Government Enforcement," American Health Law Association (AHLA) 2025 Telemedicine: Legal and Compliance Issues Conference (March 11, 2025)
• Bob Brennan and David A. O’Neal, presenters, "When the Feds Come Knocking: What Physician Practices Need to Know," (February 4, 2025)
• David A. O’Neal, presenter, "Cybersecurity Enforcement and Compliance," Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) Orlando Regional Conference (January 31, 2025)
• David A. O’Neal, co-presenter, "Enforcement Updates," Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) Atlanta Regional Conference (January 23, 2025)
• Bob Brennan, panelist, "Commercial Payor Disputes and the No Surprises Act," State Bar of Georgia Advanced Health Law Seminar (November 1, 2024)
• David O’Neal, co-Author, "Three Years of the DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative: Examining the Government’s Lawsuit Against Georgia Tech and its Implications for the Health Care Industry," American Health Law Association’s Fraud and Abuse Practice Group Briefing (October 31, 2024)
• Client Alert, Federal Court Rules Whistleblower Provision of False Claims Act is Unconstitutional (October 14, 2024)
• Client Alert, Beware of Whistleblower Provisions: Recent Legal Actions Highlight Risks in Employment and Separation Agreements (September 18, 2024)
• Bob Brennan, panelist, "Enforcement, Fraud & Abuse Panel," Georgia Hospital Association 2024 Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys Annual Meeting and Health Law Update (May 10, 2024)
• Bob Brennan, co-presenter, "False Claims Act Enforcement and Litigation: Impact on Compliance Operations," Tennessee Hospital Association Annual Fall Compliance Conference (October 26, 2023)
• Bob Brennan, contributor, "Ga. Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2023," Law360 (July 21, 2023)
• Bob Brennan, presenter, “Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, and Unknown Unknowns: Dealing With Uncertainty In Compliance Planning and Risk Assessments,” Georgia Hospital Association Compliance Officers Retreat (September 8, 2022)
• Bob Brennan, panelist, "Emerging Trends in Non-Healthcare FCA Cases," Second Annual False Claims Act Summit (December 9, 2020)
• Bob Brennan, speaker, "False Claims Act/Compliance Update," Warren Averett Healthcare Symposium (September 30, 2020)
• Bob Brennan, panelist, "False Claims Act - Ethical & Legal Dilemmas for Relator & Defense Counsel," 2020 Whistleblower Law Symposium (February 2020)
• Bob Brennan, speaker, "How to Successfully Defend Businesses and Individuals in FCA Cases," False Claims Act Summit (May 2019)
• Bob Brennan, speaker, "Defense and Avoidance of False Claims Act Investigations," Tennessee Hospital Association Fall Compliance Conference (2018)
• Bob Brennan, speaker, "Perspectives in Affirmative Civil Enforcement Litigation," Presentation with current Assistant United States Attorney to the 2018 Court Advisory Committee Conference, United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (2018)
• Bob Brennan, panelist, "Hot Topics in Qui Tam Cases," ICLE Whistleblower Law Symposium (2018)