What day is National Report Kickback Fraud Day celebrated? October 2
What is National Report Kickback Fraud Day? National Report Kickback Fraud Day not only brings awareness to the amount of illegal kickback fraud occurring against the government, but provides the public with detailed steps for reporting kickback fraud. Kickback fraud occurs both in awarding Military contracts and under the Medicare program. In fact, ten percent of all government funds are lost due to fraud, including kickback fraud schemes. Because the government spends a trillion dollars a year, $100 billion a year is lost to fraud. It’s no wonder why we have a national healthcare and financial crisis! It’s time the public stands up and puts an end to illegal kickbacks and other forms of fraud against the government.
Who created this day? National Report Kickback Fraud Day started in 2017. It was formed by The Hesch Firm, LLC after founding attorney, Joel D. Hesch, left government practice to help whistleblowers file for rewards. Mr. Hesch had devoted over 15 years working in Department of Justice whistleblower reward office where he helped obtain $1.5 billion in recoveries back for the government from those cheating the government. In the process, Mr. Hesch helped the government pay out hundreds of millions in rewards to whistleblowers. Mr. Hesch formed his own law firm and now exclusively represents whistleblowers nationwide in filing for rewards for reporting fraud against the government, including Medicare kickbacks or Military kickbacks. To help whistleblowers properly report Medicare fraud or Military fraud, he authored two free e-books (one for reporting Medicare fraud and one for reporting Military fraud). Mr. Hesch also created a website to ensure that the public knows how to properly report kickback and other forms of fraud against the government and details the steps necessary to be eligible for a whistleblower reward. Visit his website at: www.HowToReportFraud.com.
How to celebrate: Celebrate National Report Kickback Fraud Day by visiting Mr. Hesch’s website or by downloading his free Medicare fraud e-book or Military fraud e-book so that you understand the various kickback fraud schemes, as well as the Department of Justice whistleblower reward program. The website and books explains the benefits and risks of reporting fraud and the various ways you can report kickback fraud. If you have the right type of information, you can and should report kickback fraud.
How to Report Kickback Fraud and received a monetary reward: There are two very different ways of reporting illegal kickback fraud, with two very different results. One is to report kickback fraud (whether Medicare or Military kickbacks) under the Department of Justice (DOJ) reward program, which pays whistleblower rewards of up to 25% of the amount DOJ recovers. The average DOJ reward for reporting fraud is over $500,000 and some rewards have exceeded $100 million! In addition, if you report fraud under the DOJ program, the government must open an investigation and inform you of the results. Thus, applying for a reward is the only way to ensure an investigation takes place (rather than just calling a hotline). Today, over three-fourths of the government’s fraud cases are DOJ whistleblower reward cases. Thus, the government is counting on whistleblowers to report kickback fraud to DOJ and receive a reward in the process.
The other way to report kickback fraud is to report it directly to Medicare or the Military, but you may not receive a reward if you report it directly to the agency. Here is how to report Medicare kickback fraud directly to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which runs the Medicare program. (The downside by reporting the LTCH fraud to CMS is that the reward is limited to $1,000 rather than the DOJ program that pays up to 25% with no limit or cap.) You can report fraud directly to CMS through its website or by calling its hotline.
Here is a link to the CMS website: https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/index.asp.
Here the CMS hotline: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Examples of Kickback fraud by drug companies (Medicare Fraud Example)
Prescription drugs are expensive to consumers, but they yield huge profits to pharmaceutical companies. To get doctors or hospitals to prescribe theirs, many drug makers have resorted to paying kickbacks. As hard as it is to imagine, that is going on. In fact, many doctors have gotten so used to the system that they frequently demand them.
But don’t expect payments to be labeled “kickback” or for cash to be handed under the table. No, the game today is much more sophisticated. Today, kickbacks are disguised in many ways, such as educational grants (i.e. flying the doctor to Hawaii to attend a seminar), research grants (i.e. paying the doctor to do some so-called research, which rarely amounts to anything), or some other form of a consulting contract (i.e. paying the doctor to do some small amount of work for a large amount of money). Doctors are also paid to participate in studies (again where little work is required for large fees) or to be on a board or committee, which rarely meets. You get the picture.
Only your imagination is the limit to the ways kickbacks are hidden. However, they are still kickbacks. If you have knowledge of a significant kickback scheme and can help the government prove it, the regulations are clear that they are illegal. DOJ won’t turn down a solid kickback case.
Examples of Kickbacks and Bid Rigging Fraud (Military or other Agency Fraud)
Kickbacks or bid rigging fraud is more common than you might think. It is illegal for companies bidding on government contracts to collude (bid rigging) or to pay kickbacks to anyone to steer a government contract. Companies know that paying kickbacks or bid rigging is illegal, and therefore they often try to disguise the kickbacks by referring to them as consulting fees or training programs. If you can help the government prove that the payments were really to curb competition or steer a contract, you might be eligible for a very large reward for reporting kickback or bid rigging fraud.
One example of a conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices was when two transportation companies allegedly rig prices charged to the military for costs to move soldier’s household goods overseas. The companies were accused reaching an agreement to increase the price each company will charge to keep the prices high. The companies agreed to pay the government $13 million to resolve the fraud allegations. The whistleblower received $2.6 million as a reward for reporting the fraud bid rigging fraud.
Free E-Book for reporting Medicare fraud. It’s time to put an end to kickback fraud against Medicare and the Military. For more details, simply visit Mr. Hesch’s website or read his free e-books (one for reporting Medicare fraud and one for reporting Military fraud), which provides step-by-step instructions for reporting kickback fraud. You can also go directly to Mr. Hesch’s website to start the process of filing for a whistleblower reward for reporting illegal kickbacks (www.HowToReportFraud.com). It is your one resource for all you need to know about reporting illegal kickbacks to Medicare or the Military (or other government agencies) and obtaining a whistleblower reward.