Chambers USA Recognizes Pietragallo as a 2025 Leading Law Firm in Pennsylvania

2025/06/05

Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP has been recognized by Chambers and Partners USA in its 2025 Guide in the areas of False Claims Act in USA-Nationwide (Band 2), White Collar Crime & Government Investigations in Pennsylvania (Band 2), and General Commercial in Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh & Surrounds (Band 3). Chambers ranks leading law firms and attorneys across the U.S. after extensive and in-depth research including interviews with clients and members of the legal community. Their rankings are based on the opinion of clients and peers, and by the quality of the firms work. Our attorneys were ranked in the following practice areas and regions: William Pietragallo- Litigation: General Commercial— Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh & Surrounds (Band 1) Peter St. Tienne Wolff– Litigation: General Commercial— Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh & Surrounds Pamela Coyle Brecht– False Claims Act: Plaintiff—USA: Nationwide (Band 1) Marc S. Raspanti- Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations— Pennsylvania (Band 1) & False Claims Act: Plaintiff-USA: Nationwide (Band 1) Douglas Rosenblum- Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations— Pennsylvania   About Pietragallo Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP is a multi-disciplined business and litigation law firm headquartered in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with five offices throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia from which we are able to serve our clients in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read More

Pamela Coyle Brecht Returns to Seton Hall Law School’s Healthcare Compliance Program

2025/06/02

Partner Pamela Coyle Brecht will be returning to Seton Hall’s Virtual Healthcare Compliance Program on June 3, 2025. Pam will be co-presenting on “The False Claims Act and Dealing with Whistleblowers.” As chair of the firm’s national Qui Tam/False Claims Act Practice Group, she provided valuable insight into relators, whistleblowers, and the False Claims Act as it pertains to the healthcare industry. This 4-day program included a variety of topics such as the relationship between ethics and legal compliance, diversity, equity and inclusion in the compliance industry, government pricing regulation, and foreign corrupt practices act. Read More

Pamela Coyle Brecht to Moderate at the Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Section

2025/04/09

Partner Pamela Coyle Brecht will be moderating “Proving Conspiracy Under the FCA” for the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section. Taking place virtually on April 9, 2025, this discussion will cover the process from amassing the evidentiary background to plead and survive dismissal of conspiracy claims, the strategic decisions impacting discovery, and the types of evidence which will satisfy (for summary judgment purposes) the legal element of establishing an agreement among the conspirators to violate the FCA. Pam will be joined by presenters including Rebecca C. Martin from Jones Day, Steven M. Shepard from Susman Godfrey LLP, and Kenneth Coffin, U.S. Attorneys Office, Northern District of Texas. Learn more here. Read More

FCA Enforcement Roundtable with the American Bar Association

2025/04/10

Co-Hosted by Marc S. Raspanti of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP Please join the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section Qui Tam Subcommittee for a roundtable discussing the latest in FCA Enforcement on Thursday, April 10, 2025 from 5:00-7:00 pm (EST) in Miami, FL at Akerman’s Miami Offices. Libations and hors d’oeuvres will follow. Hosted and Sponsored by: American Bar Association Qui Tam Subcommittee Jacqueline M. Arango – Akerman LLP Meredith S. Auten – Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP Marc S. Raspanti – Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti LLP Ryan Stumphauzer – Stumphauzer Kolaya Nadler & Sloman PLLC Read More

Private Equity Throws FCA Enforcement Off-Kilter

2025/01/09

Private Equity’s Expanding Role in Healthcare Over the last 15 years, private equity (“PE”) firms have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in the healthcare sector, infiltrating every corner of the industry from emergency rooms and labs to billing providers and dental practices. Relators and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) have taken close notice. PE firms are increasingly being named in False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuits. A growing number of settlements with PE firms and mounting caselaw finding that PE firms can, in the right cases, be held liable under the FCA1 will ensure that the trend continues. Yet PE liability under the FCA remains the exception, not the rule. In most cases where a PE firm’s portfolio company has violated the FCA, the PE firm will not be held liable. That reflects a couple of basic realities. Relators typically work at the portfolio company, which offers limited visibility into the conduct of the PE firm. Further, the PE firm may have no relevant connection to the fraud anyway, and mere ownership of a fraudulent enterprise is not enough for FCA liability. Overleveraged Corporate Defendants PE firms use leveraged buyouts (“LBOs”) to purchase companies. In an LBO, a PE firm borrows large sums of money to finance the acquisition of a company on behalf of one of its funds. A $200 million buyout might be financed with $50 million in equity and $150 million in debt. Significantly, service of that debt falls, not on the PE firm or fund, but on the portfolio company. With interest rates having spiked in recent years, these debt obligations have risen further still. A growing roster of overleveraged defendants is not good for FCA recoveries and enforcement. The FCA’s treble damages and civil monetary penalty (“CMP”) provisions allow the government to not just make itself whole but penalize fraudsters. Read More

The Emergency Room—The Front Door to the Hospital (Fraud Schemes)?

2024/12/30

Fraud related to hospital services – both inpatient and outpatient – has led to over $511 million in damages and hundreds of millions of dollars in False Claims Act (FCA) settlements over the past 15 years. The ER has been aptly called the “front door” to the hospital.1 ER patients account for 70% of all hospital admissions.2 It is no surprise that the ER is also the focus of lucrative fraud schemes. Many ER patients are also beneficiaries of government healthcare programs. In 2021, 58% of all ER patients were covered by Medicare or Medicaid.3 This percentage does not include other government healthcare programs such as Tricare, Champus/VA, the federal employee health benefits program (FEHBP) or private payors. The ER is a place rife for opportunistic fraudsters to cause mischief at taxpayers’ expense. Medical Necessity Fraud schemes focused on charging payors for medically unnecessary services have been the subject of FCA cases and DOJ settlements since at least 2004. The government’s settlement with Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) in 2003 was a landmark recovery for the DOJ. ER patients have long been (and continue to be) exploited for common schemes in healthcare fraud, over-admitting ER patients for lucrative in-patient stays,5 billing for services not performed or billing for medically unnecessary services. Anti-Kickback Violations What is lesser known, but even more insidious, is the prevalence of Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) or Stark Law violations that impact ER operations. Clearly, ER care, like every other type of medical care, is highly regulated and must comply with the AKS, Stark Laws, and the FCA. However, to understand the way hospitals and ER staffing companies have become more sophisticated in schemes to violate federal and state laws aimed at preventing fraud, waste, and abuse through emergency care, a brief primer on how emergency treatment is provided to patients is helpful. Read More

Pietragallo Welcomes Gregory A. Mason

2024/12/09

Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Gregory A. Mason to the firm’s Philadelphia office. Greg has joined the firm as senior counsel in our Government Enforcement, Compliance, & White Collar Litigation and the Qui Tam & False Claims Act Practice Groups. He focuses his practice on representing qui tam plaintiffs and defendants in False Claims Act cases, defending individuals and entities under criminal and civil investigation, litigating all aspects of fraud cases, and other complex matters, and more. As a former trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice (Civil Division, Fraud Section), he successfully led dozens of investigations and litigations and helped to recover over $100 million in settlements and resolutions of cases brought under the False Claims Act. Prior to his time at the Department of Justice, Greg worked in Washington, D.C. at a large law firm where he litigated cases involving a broad range of legal issues including government investigations, commercial disputes, breach of contract, intellectual property, defamation, and professional malpractice. Learn more about Greg here. About Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP is a multi-disciplined business and commercial litigation firm headquartered in Pittsburgh with six offices throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and West Virginia from which we serve our clients in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read More

Pamela Coyle Brecht to Present at Seton Hall’s Virtual Healthcare Compliance Program

2024/10/08

Partner Pamela Coyle Brecht will be returning to Seton Hall’s Virtual Healthcare Compliance Program held on October 8, 2024. Pam will be co-presenting alongside Meredith Auten on “The False Claims Act and Dealing with Whistleblowers.” This 4-day virtual program will cover statutes, regulations, and other guidance that encompass the body of law known as fraud and abuse law. Pam’s panel will take place on the second day of the program with the day’s topics focusing on False Claims Act; Anti-Kickback statute; Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Advertising & Promotion; and Speaker Programs.   Read More

Pamela Coyle Brecht to Present at Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section

2024/07/17

Partner Pamela Coyle Brecht will be presenting at the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section on The False Claims Act: A Practitioner’s Perspective. The program will be held on July 17, 2024. This program is specifically designed for law students, law clerks, and newer lawyers to share an inside look on the practice of civil enforcement law in the False Claims Act and other whistleblower statutes with perspectives from the bench, the government, the whistleblower counsel, and defense counsel. Pam will be giving an inside look from the whistleblower’s perspective. Interested in learning more? Click here. Read More

Marc S. Raspanti to Speak at American Bar Association’s 2024 Civil False Claims Institute

2024/06/05

Partner Marc S. Raspanti will be presenting virtually at the American Bar Association’s 2024 Civil False Claims Institute on June 4-5, 2024. His panel will be on “Litigation: From Seal Lift to Final Pretrial Conference — 9(B), Touhy, Claims, Experts, and More”. Marc’s panel will cover advanced perspectives on drafting a complaint, motions to dismiss, all aspects of fact and expert discovery, and pre-trial practice. This program includes some of FCA bar’s most experienced litigators that will explain how to effectively litigate an FCA case, whether declined or intervened. Read More