Situation
The DOJ's Civil Division, together with a U.S. Attorney's Office and the relevant federal agency's Office of Inspector General, opened a False Claims Act investigation into a state agency's administration of a federal benefits program. The government alleged the agency had introduced bias into its quality-control process for the program, resulting in the submission of false quality-control data and the agency's receipt of unentitled performance bonuses over two fiscal years.
Approach
Daniel Fridman was selected through a competitive process as lead counsel for the state agency, engaging directly with the DOJ Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) and the U.S. Attorney's Office handling the matter to build the record for a resolution well below the government's original demand.
Result
The matter resolved for $17.5 million against a government demand that exceeded $40 million, reflecting the treble damages and per-claim civil penalties available under the False Claims Act — a fraction of the government's original demand. The agency also agreed to forgo an additional amount in unpaid performance bonuses for two subsequent fiscal years. Mr. Fridman signed the settlement agreement on the agency's behalf. As with any FCA settlement, the resolved claims were allegations only, with no determination of liability.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Press Release No. 21-647, July 12, 2021 (https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/florida-department-children-and-families-agrees-pay-175-million-resolve-false-claims-act).