When Fraud Involvement Disqualifies FCA Whistleblowers

Litigation attorneys Megan Mocho, Emily Robey‑Phillips and Marcus Christian II authored a Law360 article analyzing a recent Massachusetts federal court decision that expands the scope of the False Claims Act's (FCA) conviction bar for relators. Ms. Mocho, Ms. Robey‑Phillips and Mr. Christian examine U.S. ex rel. Perry v. First Psychiatric Planners Inc., in which the court denied a relator a share of settlement proceeds based on criminal conduct that arose from the relator's role in the underlying conduct at issue. They explain how the ruling goes a step beyond precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by interpreting "arising from" in the FCA's qui tam provisions broadly and signals that relators may be barred even when their convictions are a degree removed from the alleged fraud. The authors further discuss the decision's implications for qui tam enforcement, relators' counsel evaluating potential cases and companies weighing voluntary self‑disclosure in light of the U.S. Department of Justice's continued focus on individual misconduct.

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