Qui Tam Section: [VIRTUAL] False Claims Act Today – District of Massachusetts

**Program hosted in (ET) time zone**

Hosted by the FBA’s Qui Tam Section, often in cooperation with local FBA chapters, “The False Claims Act Today” is a discussion series that examines the details of real-life FCA practice in specific jurisdictions. Sessions typically focus on a single federal district and feature an experienced local panel that includes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the district; a federal judge; a relator-side attorney; and a defense attorney.

“FCA Today” sessions currently are being conducted online via Zoom, and do not offer CLE credit. This session will focus on FCA practice in the District of Massachusetts.

About the Presenters

R. Scott Oswald – Chair, FBA Qui Tam Section (moderator)

Scott Oswald is an accomplished trial lawyer who has brought more than 40 trials to verdict. His cases have recovered more than $300 million in judgments and settlements. A fellow of the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, he received his law degree from Howard University and honed his skills at Trial Lawyers College, founded by the legendary Gerry Spence. Mr. Oswald litigates employment and whistleblower actions nationwide. Among his results:

• First jury verdict under new whistleblower protections in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013|
• First Sarbanes-Oxley Act liability verdict to withstand appeal
• First jury verdict under 2009 anti-retaliation provisions of False Claims Act
• First Dodd-Frank Act retaliation lawsuit to reach discovery in federal court

Mr. Oswald is chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section and immediate past chair of the FBA’s Professional Ethics Committee. Lawdragon ranks him as one of the top 500 plaintiff-side employment lawyers in the country.

Amy Crafts, Division Chief, False Claims Division, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General

Amy Crafts is an Assistant Attorney General and Chief of AG Healey’s False Claims Division, which enforces the Massachusetts False Claims Act to achieve accountability and fair and honest conduct from providers of government services in health care, information technology, environmental protection, employment practices, public construction and beyond. Ms. Crafts has also served as Deputy Chief of the False Claims Division, as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division and as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.  Prior to joining the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Ms. Crafts was an associate in the Boston office of Proskauer Rose LLP.

Erica Blachman Hitchings, Member, Whistleblower Law Collaborative LLC

Erica Blachman Hitchings became a member of the Whistleblower Law Collaborative, LLC after nearly nine years in the U.S. Department of Justice where she successfully investigated, litigated, and settled a wide range of False Claims Act cases.

Ms. Hitchings joined the Department of Justice as a member of the Attorney General’s Honors Program in 2009, after spending two years clerking for the Honorable Patti B. Saris, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  She first served as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Fraud section in Washington, D.C. and then as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of California.  Over the course of her career at DOJ, Ms. Hitchings conducted dozens of health care, procurement, and other fraud investigations that resulted in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars by the United States.  Ms. Hitchings is a frequent speaker on False Claims Act topics and teaches Health Care Fraud and Abuse at Boston University School of Law.

Gregg Shapiro, Civil Enforcement Chief, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts

Gregg Shapiro is Chief of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.  During his DOJ career, he has served as lead counsel on matters that resulted in over $3 billion in health care fraud recoveries, and he has overseen RMBS and other enforcement matters that generated over $5 billion in additional recoveries.  For part of 2020, Mr. Shapiro was on detail to the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery.

Ian Marinoff, Managing Attorney, Medicaid Fraud Division, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General

Ian Marinoff is a Managing Attorney in the Office of Attorney General Maura Healey, Medicaid Fraud Division, which he joined in 2011. During his tenure, he has conducted investigations and brought enforcement actions involving various provider types, including nursing homes, personal care attendants, physicians, and transportation providers. Mr. Marinoff has also prosecuted multimillion-dollar criminal cases, including MFD’s first indictments for money laundering. Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Marinoff was an associate at a large Boston firm and prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Hon. Patti B. Saris, U.S. District Judge, D. Mass.

United States District Judge Patti B. Saris served as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts from 2013-2019. She became Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission in Washington, DC in January, 2011 and served until 2017. She is a graduate of Radcliffe College ’73 (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and Harvard Law School ’76 (Cum Laude).

After graduating from law school, she clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. When Senator Edward M. Kennedy became chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she moved to Washington D.C. and worked as staff counsel. She later became an Assistant United States Attorney, and eventually chief of the Civil Division. In 1986, Judge Saris became a United States Magistrate Judge, and in 1989, she was appointed as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court. In 1994, she was appointed to the United States District Court.

Doreen M. Rachal, Counsel, Sidley Austin LLP

Doreen Rachal, a former AUSA, is Counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and specializes her practice in white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and criminal and civil government investigations, including advising and defending recipients of grand jury subpoenas.  She is a member of Sidley’s White Collar: Government Litigation and Investigations, Healthcare, and Securities Enforcement and Regulatory groups.  As a leading white-collar practitioner, Ms. Rachal represents companies and individuals in matters involving investigations and enforcement actions conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, and state government agencies. She also has extensive experience conducting complex global internal investigations and advising boards on internal compliance programs. Her clients span various industries, including financial services, life sciences, maritime, and technology.

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CLE

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