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

**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. This online-only event will be conducted via Zoom and will spotlight the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

This event does not offer CLE credit. Registrants will receive Zoom login details on the day before the event.

Registration is Closed

About the Presenters

Hon. Mitchell S. Goldberg, District Judge, E.D. Pa.

Judge Goldberg was appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on October 31, 2008. He had previously served on the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

Judge Goldberg’s career as a practicing attorney started at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where he worked in both the trial and appellate divisions. He later joined the law firm of Cozen O’Connor, where his practice focused on commercial litigation. Judge Goldberg was eventually promoted to senior partner, and also served as the manager of Cozen’s Arson and Fraud Unit. Judge Goldberg returned to the public sector in 1997, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where he handled mostly white collar crime cases, both before the District Court and the United Stated Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Judge Goldberg is a graduate of Temple Law School (1986) where he was a member of Temple’s first trial team. He presently serves as an Adjunct Professor at Temple Law teaching federal law and civil/criminal advanced trial advocacy. In May of 2017, the Chief Judge of the Third Circuit appointed Judge Goldberg as a visiting judge for the District of Delaware to assist in the handling of patent case

Charlene K. Fullmer, Assistant United States Attorney, E.D. Pa.

Assistant United States Attorney Charlene Keller Fullmer is the Deputy Chief for Affirmative Litigation in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where she supervises and prosecutes health care and affirmative fraud matters. Ms. Fullmer led the Philadelphia civil prosecution team that investigated and resolved allegations of off-label promotion of the atypical antipsychotic drug Risperdal by Johnson and Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which resulted in a $2.2 billion global settlement with the Department of Justice, the largest paid for a single drug.

In 2009, Ms. Fullmer served on the team that investigated and resolved allegations of off-label promotion and kickbacks by Pfizer, Inc. The $2.3 billion civil and criminal resolution was at the time the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice. For her efforts in these matters, she was the recipient of the 2014 Attorney General’s Award for Fraud Prevention, an Award of Commendation from the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, Tony West, and the 2014 National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association’s Investigation of the Year. In October 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder presented Ms. Fullmer with the Attorney General Award for Exceptional Service, the Department of Justice’s highest commendation.

Ms. Fullmer returned to the Justice Department in 2007 after six years in private practice at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia, where she litigated defensive matters, including False Claims Act, health care, white collar, antitrust, and insurance coverage litigation. Prior to that time, she served as an Attorney Advisor in Washington, DC and Quantico, VA with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Office of Professional Responsibility, the Bureau’s Internal Affairs.

Ms. Fullmer is a 1993 graduate of Lehigh University, cum laude, and a 1996 graduate of Temple University School of Law, cum laude, where she served on the Law Review.

Meredith S. Auten, Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

As part of her comprehensive white collar litigation practice, trial lawyer Meredith Auten concentrates her practice on defending civil False Claims Act (FCA) and qui tam investigations and litigation involving a range of corporate clients, including those in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and defense contracting industries. Over the course of her 20-plus-year career, Ms. Auten has secured numerous DOJ declinations and has successfully defended on motions to dismiss and/or favorably resolved every FCA matter she has handled in jurisdictions across the country, including the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Auten is a frequent speaker on FCA matters and is the co-chair of the ABA’s Qui tam Subcommittee. Ms. Auten is also a former member of the Criminal Justice Appointment Panel for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and formerly served as a hearing committee member of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Marc S. Raspanti, Partner, Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP

Marc Stephen Raspanti is a seasoned litigator with over 38 years of experience focusing on complex, high-stakes matters in Government Enforcement, Compliance, Internal Investigations, Federal and State White Collar Litigation; Federal and State Qui Tam Litigation; Criminal, Civil and Administrative Health Care Fraud Litigation; and Complex Commercial Litigation. Mr. Raspanti is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a former Assistant District Attorney at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where he tried a wide range of criminal cases to verdict. Mr. Raspanti is a name partner of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP and the founder of the firm’s national Qui Tam/False Claims Act practice group as well as the firm’s White Collar Criminal Defense practice group. He has also served as an expert witness and mediator in False Claims Act cases. Mr. Raspanti has been involved.

R. Scott Oswald

Scott Oswald is an accomplished trial lawyer who has brought more than 40 trials to verdict and recovered more than $300 million in judgments and settlements for his clients, in cases ranging from wrongful termination to employer fraud.

Mr. Oswald litigates employment lawsuits nationwide, with a special focus on whistleblower matters – including qui tam law, which can deliver monetary rewards to employees who expose fraud against the government. He has spoken up for workers before federal agencies and on Capitol Hill, and has broken new ground in whistleblower law:

• First jury verdict (more than $2 million) under new whistleblower protections introduced in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013;
• First Sarbanes-Oxley Act liability verdict to withstand appeal;
• First reported successful jury verdict under 2009 anti-retaliation provisions of False Claims Act and;
• First Dodd-Frank Act retaliation lawsuit to reach discovery in federal court.

Mr. Oswald is the current programming chair for the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section and has served in the past as both section chair and chair of its Professional Ethics Committee. He is also a proud past president of the Metropolitan Employment Lawyers Association and currently heads its Bench-Bar Committee. Mr. Oswald is co-chair of an employment law subcommittee at the American Bar Association and has roles in other professional groups, including the D.C. Bar and the National Employment Lawyers Association.

in the recovery of over $2 billion for state and federal taxpayers and has litigated numerous high profile Qui Tam cases.

Registration

Registration is Closed

• FBA Members: $0
• Non-Members: $0

Cancellation Policy

No refunds will be made for cancellations received after the close of business on November 9, 2022. No-shows will be billed. Substitutions may be made at any time upon notification. Please contact Daniel Hamilton at dhamilton@fedbar.org with cancellation and/or substitution requests.

CLE

Please note that CLE credit is not offered for this webinar.

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