• Billing for services that were not provided
• Billing for non-existent patients
• Inflating the costs of drugs or services
• Taking kickbacks
• Improper self-referrals
• Performing and billing for unnecessary medical services
• False certifications of services that were performed

Promoting off-label use of medications

Promoting the off-label use of medications is a type of pharmaceutical fraud. It inflates the amount that is owed by the government to a provider.

Government contractor fraud

Government Contractors frequently receive government contracts for different defense or construction projects. The government often spends more money than is needed to complete its projects. The primary reason for the increased federal project costs is the huge amount of fraud committed by many government contractors.

Some common forms of contractor fraud are:

• Using cheaper products or parts to save money
• Maximizing profits by shifting costs between projects
• Allocating private-company costs to the government
• Overcharging for goods or products
• Illegal kickbacks and competitive bidding violations
• GSA contractor fraud

Financial sector fraud

In the financial and banking industry, whistleblower lawsuits have played a major role in exposing wrongdoing in the past decade. Such huge players as Goldman Sachs have been brought down because of insiders exposing massive fraud. Financial sector fraud is normally concentrated in the following areas:

• Misuse of bailout funds
• Mortgage fraud
• Securities fraud and insider trading
• Treasury and municipal bond fraud
• Government pension fraud

Other types of fraud against the government

There are other pervasive types of fraud against the government that occurs when entities or people attempt to misuse funds for personal gain. These may include disaster relief fraud, energy fraud and research and grant fraud.

Disaster relief fraud is very egregious because it involves stealing money from the government that is earmarked to help people who are in desperate need. The fraud may involve fake victims, hyperinflated renovation costs and thefts of public assistance money.

Energy fraud may occur when companies manipulate how much they pay to the federal government for the development of new energy sources. Coal, oil and gas companies are all required to pay royalties to the government when they look for resources on land that is federally owned.

Research and grant fraud may involve using grant money to fund unrelated research, falsifying grant applications or falsifying research that is required for continued funding.

Swartz Swidler may help you to stop fraud

When fraud is committed against the government, everyone loses. If you have personal information about a company that is defrauding the government, you may be able to file a lawsuit on the government’s behalf. If you are successful, you will be entitled to receive a portion of the money that the government recovers as a result.

At Swartz Swidler, our experienced lawyers may evaluate the facts of your whistleblower case in order to advise you about the strength of your potential claim. Contact us today to schedule an appointment so that we can provide you with an evaluation and help you to protect your rights.