Jack E. Fernandez

False Claims Act Matters

• Won a substantial number of FCA cases on motions to dismiss before discovery had even started.
• Persuaded the U.S. Attorney’s Office not to pursue an FCA case against the CEO of a local medical provider.  
• Resolved a federal FCA case against a national medical provider as a simple overpayment.
• Won an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on behalf of a pharmaceutical company alleged to have violated the FCA on the basis of allegations of off-label marketing.
• Represented the vice president and general manager of a Fortune 500 company against an FCA lawsuit brought in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The case was resolved by the company, and Jack’s client was dismissed.
• Represented a hospital in defense of an FCA lawsuit alleging the hospital failed to properly obtain informed consent from patients undergoing surgeries, resulting in purportedly false submissions for payment to Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare. The court granted the hospital’s motion to dismiss.

Health Care Fraud Matters

• Persuaded the U.S. Attorney’s Office not to pursue Medicare fraud charges against a medical billing company and a medical provider.
• Assisted a national Fortune 500 company in developing a model defense to nursing home civil liability and fraud allegations.
• Defended an executive and former general counsel of a major public health care insurance company in connection with federal health care fraud charges. The indictment involved complex legal and accounting issues regarding the Florida Medicaid behavioral health care program. A related civil suit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged fraud, false filings, and related violations of the Securities Act.

Investigations

• Conducted an internal investigation and made a successful disclosure to the Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the request of a health care client being acquired by a major multinational corporation. The internal investigation and disclosure were required as a condition precedent to the sale of the company. The disclosure was made, and the sale was consummated.
• Conducted internal investigations for a Fortune 500 company involving a long-term acute care hospital in Tampa.
• Conducted an internal investigation for an international pharmaceutical company involving disclosures to the FDA Advisory Committee.
• Represented a publicly traded national nursing home chain against a criminal investigation led by the Louisiana Attorney General. The allegations were that one of the nursing home employees had caused the death of a resident. After Jack participated in lengthy negotiations with the Office of the Louisiana Attorney General, the case was dropped.
• Represented the head of research for a Fortune 500 company in a significant federal investigation in the Southern District of Florida, alleging certain improper practices nationwide. The allegations involved the repeated use of certain pharmaceuticals designed to be utilized only once. This was a nationwide issue for the company.
• Represented a company in the education industry and its owner in connection with a joint fraud investigation being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of Education. Jack persuaded the assistant U.S. attorney not to prosecute the case.
• Represented CEO of major cancer hospital against federal investigation into Chinese Thousand Talents Program.

Other Legal Matters

• Represented an internationally famous psychiatrist and owner of neuropsychiatric instruments used in the diagnosis and treatment of severe mental health disorders in litigation regarding the licensing of the rights to develop and commercialize digitized versions of his instruments. After two years of litigation in multiple federal courts, Jack and his team secured a favorable settlement that clarified the parties' respective rights under the license, while avoiding any payment to the plaintiff. 
• Represented a high-level corporate employee of a major hospital chain in the Northern District of Alabama with allegations of obtaining bribes. The employee was charged with receiving bribes in return for locating a rehabilitation facility in the Middle East. Due to Jack’s advocacy, the client received no jail time, despite potentially facing a multi-year sentencing guidelines sentence.
• Litigated elder abuse lawsuits in numerous jurisdictions on behalf of a major national nursing home chain. These cases involved allegations of neglect and mistreatment of residents. These were cases with extremely high liability and, oftentimes, could result in nine-figure verdicts. The cases settled.
• Persuaded the government, after a search warrant and demand for a mail fraud guilty plea, not to pursue charges against a technology company or its CEO.
• Successfully convinced the government in a Lacey Act prosecution, following a search warrant and seizure, to forgo indictment of the client. Jack achieved a resolution with no civil or criminal consequences.