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Archive for January, 2011
New York to Broaden Government Fraud Fight
Monday, January 31st, 2011
Eric Schneiderman stated Wednesday that his first policy effort as New York Attorney General will be to broaden the state’s current false claims efforts beyond health care to all other state and local government fraud. Schneiderman said his new program would bring “the same focus that [New York’s] Medicaid fraud recovery unit has brought to those who try to rip off the government in [the state’s] expenditures of Medicaid funds.” Chief among the expansion efforts is a highly anticipated Taxpayer Protection Unit intended to crack down on large scale tax cheats and unethical government contractors.
New York passed an enhanced state False Claims Act last year, sponsored by Schneiderman during his tenure as a state senator. Haled by Schneiderman as the “strongest anti-fraud statue in the United States,” the law is the first in the country to have a provision that allows whistleblowers to go after tax cheats who defraud New York State of more than $350,000. The Taxpayer Protection Unit will also target multi-state corporate tax fraud schemes.
Schneiderman’s presentation appears to fall in the footsteps of past New York Attorney General’s fraud fighting focus, earning the post the nickname “the Sheriff of Wall Street.” Governor Cuomo, a former Sheriff of Wall Street himself, publicly applauded Schneiderman’s efforts, stating, “Recouping taxpayer dollars illegally siphoned from state coffers is critically important.”
The expanded government fraud effort comes as New York State grapples with an anticipated $10 billion shortfall in a next year’s budget, with projected deficits over the following two years of $14 billion and $17 billion.
Kenney & McCafferty has been at the forefront of state False Claims Act filings and has experience with working with the New York Attorney General’s Office on whistleblower matters. For a free assessment of your potential claim, call K&M today.
Tags: attorney general, corruption, False Claims Act, government fraud, New York, reward, schneiderman, Tax Fraud, whistleblower
Posted in Corporate Tax Fraud, False Claims Act, Offshore Accouts Fraud, Recent News, Tax Fraud | Comments Off
