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Financial fraud is any intentional act of deception involving financial transactions for purpose of personal gain. Although financial fraud most often involves mortgage fraud, it can apply to any financial transaction, such as pension funds. Financial fraud violates a number of laws, and if the government is the victim of the fraud, the False Claims Act may come into play.

The False Claims Act is a federal law that allows private citizens to sue individuals or businesses who defraud the government and receive an award for doing so. The false claim may take many forms: overcharging for a product, failing to perform a service, delivering less than the promised amount of goods or services, underpaying money owed to the government, providing inferior products, failing to comply with program restrictions, charging for one thing but delivering another, and violating a governmental regulation, among others.

Whistleblowers have been instrumental in helping the government combat financial fraud in recent years. Common types of financial fraud pursued under the False Claims Act include:

  • Violations of federal bailout programs: Under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Capital Purchase Program (CPP), and Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), the federal government agreed to help financial institutions get back on their feet after the economy collapsed in 2008. Unfortunately, some financial institutions have defrauded the government through false certifications for eligibility, conflicts of interest violations, money laundering schemes, and other misrepresentations.
  • Mortgage fraud: The federal government insures certain residential mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration, which can be the target of fraud through misrepresentations such as: overstatement of borrower’s income or assets, misrepresentation of borrower’s employment, failure to disclose debts, misrepresentation of use of property, and the inflation of property value.
  • Pension Fund Fraud: Pension fund fraud can involve securities violations or insider trading, as well as fraudulent services provided by outside advisory and management companies.

Contact a Financial Fraud Lawyer at Goldberg Kohn

The whistleblower attorneys at Goldberg Kohn are committed to fighting fraud against the government and protecting the rights of whistleblowers. Please contact us online if you would like to learn more about financial fraud or would like to schedule a free, confidential appointment with one of our nationally recognized whistleblower attorneys.