Adam R. Tarosky
Partner / Leader, False Claims Act Team
Introduction
Adam Tarosky is a member of the Government Investigations & White Collar Defense practice group and leads the False Claims Act Team. He came to Nixon Peabody from one of the most powerful offices in the Department of Justice. The Civil Division’s Fraud Section, the clearinghouse for all False Claims Act activity in the country, annually coordinates the recovery of billions of dollars from health care providers, defense contractors, and other entities and individuals that do business with the government. Adam uses the knowledge and insight that he obtained as a trial attorney with the Fraud Section to counsel clients through FCA investigations and qui tam and government-initiated litigation.
Adam also provides compliance counsel; represents clients facing administrative sanctions like debarment, exclusion, suspension, or civil monetary penalties; guides health care providers through pre- and post-payment reviews and program integrity audits; and maintains a robust commercial litigation practice.
My focus
I represent clients in a variety of heavily regulated industries, including health care, government contracting, financial services, higher education, and aviation, facing government investigation and related litigation, primarily under the FCA, Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, Civil Monetary Penalties Law, Contract Disputes Act, Truth in Negotiations Act, and Federal Acquisition Regulation.
False Claims Act Compliance and Defense
I advise on compliance with the FCA and statutes and regulations that commonly underlie FCA actions, manage internal investigations, direct responses to civil investigative demands from the DOJ and subpoenas from law enforcement agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, work to convince the government to decline to prosecute FCA allegations or resolve them on favorable terms, and litigate FCA claims by whistleblowers or the United States through motions practice, discovery, and trial. Throughout such representations, I identify and strategically guide clients through potentially parallel criminal and administrative liability.
Advocacy before Government Agencies and Inspectors General
In addition to my FCA compliance and defense practice, I regularly advocate before government agencies, including HHS-OIG, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Department of Defense, to protect providers and contractors from debarment, exclusion, suspension, civil monetary penalties, and unduly burdensome corporate integrity agreements and monitorships. I also help clients respond effectively to pre- and post-payment reviews by Medicare Administrative Contractors and Recovery Audit Contractors, and to program integrity audits by Unified Program Integrity Contractors.
Navigation of Government Investigations Using Insider’s Instincts
Before joining Nixon Peabody, I served as a trial attorney in the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, the office that oversees nearly every FCA investigation, qui tam proceeding, litigation, and trial in the country. There, I led high-profile enforcement actions against, among others, the country’s highest paid Medicare cardiologist, the estate of a bank executive charged with misappropriating Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, and the former chief financial officer of a global professional services firm that overbilled the United States for reconstruction work in Iraq and Afghanistan. I investigated and resolved other matters short of litigation, including through settlements with a major purveyor of residential mortgage-backed securities and a nationwide mail-order pharmacy. Together, these efforts resulted in the recovery of over $100 million.
During my time at the DOJ, I also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Major Crimes Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, prosecuting criminal actions involving trespass, assault, theft, drugs, weapons, and firearm-related offenses.
Prior to my government service, I was a senior associate at an elite trial and white collar defense firm in Washington, DC, and before that, I clerked for Judge Thomas M. Hardiman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Trial Advocacy
Throughout my career, I have tried or assisted in trying dozens of civil and criminal cases, including a seminal consumer fraud matter involving allegedly inflated average wholesale prices for prescription drugs. I took numerous other cases to the brink of trial, including FCA cases involving allegedly unnecessary inpatient admissions and fraud on a state Medicaid agency’s sole community provider program.
Looking ahead
The False Claims Act will continue to be a major source of revenue for the government, and a major source of potentially catastrophic financial, operational, and reputational risk to individuals and entities that do business with it.
Since 1986, FCA recoveries have exceeded $64 billion. At the same time, incentives for relators to bring FCA actions have remained, and qui tam actions have continued to proliferate. Over 600 qui tam actions have been filed each year since 2011 and, last year, the government brought a record 250 FCA actions on its own.
Although the government has increasingly exercised its statutory prerogative to dismiss qui tam actions, tenuous allegations continue to be litigated long after the government declines, forcing defendants to zealously defend themselves or risk treble damages, mandatory civil penalties, and likely administrative sanctions.
In parallel with increasing federal enforcement of the FCA, 31 states now have FCA-like statutes of their own, and interstate coordination of investigation and enforcement efforts, including through sophisticated data analysis and information sharing, is becoming more efficient and robust. State Attorneys General and Medicaid Fraud Control Units are likely to take increasingly significant roles in fraud, waste, and abuse enforcement in the coming years.
All of this means that those who do business with the United States and state governments need experienced counsel who understands the priorities, procedures, and at times peculiarities of the government, and who maintains close relationships with federal prosecutors, civil enforcement attorneys, agency counsel, and federal program personnel across the country.
I am one of a small group of defense attorneys with an insider’s understanding of the DOJ and the Fraud Section who has also amassed significant criminal, regulatory, and private sector experience. My unique knowledge and insight generate exceptional results for clients.
Representative experience
- Defending leading medical device company in ongoing qui tam litigation involving metal-on-metal hip implants
- Counseling office-based opioid treatment provider through FCA investigation by DOJ concerning urine drug testing and evaluation and management coding
- Guiding ambulatory surgery centers and pain management clinics through FCA investigation by United States Attorney’s Office concerning Medicare coverage for electro-acupuncture devices (including P-STIM® and NeuroStim System® devices)
- Working with ophthalmology practice group to respond to DOJ civil investigative demand concerning Lucentis® and Eylea® injections to treat wet macular degeneration
- Representing skilled nursing facilities in investigation by United States Attorney’s Office concerning coding and billing for skilled nursing and therapy services
- Assisting Federal Aviation Act, Part 135 passenger air carriers with Payroll Support Program receipt and compliance and Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness
- Advising manufacturer in investigation by DOJ and United States Agency for International Development concerning forced labor allegations
- Representing pharmaceutical manufacturer in breach of contract lawsuit against company hired to conduct clinical trials
- Represented witness in FCA and Anti-Kickback Statute investigation involving spinal implant manufacturers, distributors, and surgeons
- Counseled pharmacist in responding to notice of proposed exclusion from Medicare program
- Represented former Attorneys General of Idaho in preparing amicus curiae brief in support of transgender woman excluded by Idaho law from participating on women’s sports teams
- Defended global financial institution in securities suit by Federal Housing Finance Agency under Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act
- Counseled former chief financial officer of oil field services firm through government investigation and interviews arising out of shareholder suit under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act
- Represented international gaming company in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, which was concluded without charge
Admitted to practice
District of Columbia
Pennsylvania
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
Education
Duke University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
The Pennsylvania State University Schreyer Honors College, B.A.
Professional activities
- American Bar Association, Health Law and White Collar Crime Divisions
- Federal Bar Association, Health Law and Qui Tam Sections
- American Health Lawyers Association
- National LGBTQ+ Bar Association
- Nixon Peabody LGBTQA Resource Group
Recognition
- Selected, through a peer-review survey, for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2023 in the field of Qui Tam Law; and Criminal Defense:White-Collar; listed in Best Lawyers since 2021
- Financial Crimes and Inspectors General Council Award, May 2017
- Super Lawyers, Rising Star, May 2014
- Certificate of Recognition for Professional Support of Victim Assistance and Sexual Assault Program, County Executive of Montgomery County, Maryland, April 2009
News Mentions
- The Washington Post
Washington-area appointments and promotions for July 15
This roundup of important personnel moves in the Washington, DC, area highlights the arrival of Government Investigations and White Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky to NP.July 14, 2019 - Reuters Legal
Career Tracker
This roundup of lawyers on the move features the promotion of Boston Global Finance partner Amy Charamba to practice group leader and the addition of Washington, DC, Government Investigations and White Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky.July 15, 2019 - Modern Healthcare
Devicemaker-doctor relationships ripe for fraud litigation
This article quotes Washington, DC, Government Investigations and White Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky for his perspective on the overlap between anti-kickback violations and False Claims Act violations when physicians are accused of accepted improper perks from medical device companies.Aug 23, 2019 - Bloomberg Law
Nixon Peabody adds ex-ICE director amid white collar swoon
Sep 4, 2019This article highlights the arrival of Washington DC Government Investigations and White Collar Defense partner John Sandweg, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
John comes to NP after leading his own boutique firm, Frontier Solutions. He joins NP along with five team members: counsel Rachel Winkler, associate Catherine Ingram Hunstad, legal assistant Tracey Ford, and investigative directors Jerry Robinette and Miguel Unzueta. John and his five colleagues will spearhead our firm’s new Cross-Border Risks team.
This article also quotes Washington DC Government Investigations and White Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky on current trends in False Claims Act prosecutions.
- Law360
Top DOJ attorney spotlights main FCA target areas for 2020
This article features Washington, DC, Government Investigations and White Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky discussing the best approach for Medicare Advantage insurers who may be re-evaluating their chart review programs in the context of possible False Claims Act actions brought by the Department of Justice.Feb 28, 2020 - Law360
Employers see strings attached in $500B CARES Act relief
April 3, 2020Washington, D.C. Government Investigations and White-Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky discussed the possible compliance issues that may arise for businesses accepting government funds as part of the CARES Act.
- Corporate Compliance Insights
Managing Risks That Come with Federal Funds
April 17, 2020NP’s Christopher Hotaling, Adam Tarosky, Scott O’Connell and Colin Missett authored this article detailing key considerations for businesses to consider, given that funds under the CARES Act come with associated responsibilities for recipients, creating potential criminal and civil liability if not properly handled.
- Skilled Nursing News
Increased Nursing Home Data Reporting Could Bring ‘Perfect Storm’ of Federal Lawsuits
This article, covering takeaways from a recent webinar on long-term care facility infection control enforcement, extensively quotes Washington DC Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky, who provided several best practices for skilled nursing facilities amid increased government scrutiny.Sep 21, 2020 - KIFI/KIDK News – Idaho
Former AG's file friend-of-the-court brief
This article covers an amicus brief filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by three former Idaho attorneys general, detailing why Idaho House Bill 500—which bars transgender women and girls from participating in school sports and subjects all women and girl athletes to the threat of invasive testing—is unconstitutional. In addition to the former AGs, more than 175 athletes joined Athlete Ally and the Women’s Sports Foundation in signing a brief, and the National Women’s Law Center and more than 60 other women’s rights and civil rights groups also filed an amicus brief. Los Angeles Intellectual Property partner Seth Levy and Complex Commercial Disputes partner Sarah Erickson André, and Washington, D.C. Government Investigations & White Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky are representing the former AGs.Dec 22, 2020 - Modern Healthcare
Hospitals See Opportunity, Risk in Ambulatory Surgery Centers
This article on the increasing trend among hospitals to invest in ambulatory surgery centers extensively quotes Los Angeles Health Care partner Jill Gordon and Washington, D.C. Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky for their outlook on the Department of Health and Human Services’ updated anti-kickback statute, joint ventures among hospitals and ASCs, and a hospital’s ability to attract and retain top surgeons.Jan 25, 2021 - Modern Healthcare
Supreme Court won't weigh in on False Claims Act standards case
This article on the U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of two petitions to clarify falsity thresholds under the False Claims Act quotes Washington, D.C. Government Investigations & White Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky for his outlook on how the denial could make it harder for providers to dismiss health care cases.Feb 22, 2021 - Bloomberg Law
Grassley moves to stop contractors from holding U.S. 'hostage'
Washington, DC Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky is quoted in this article analyzing Senator Chuck Grassley’s proposed False Claims Act bill, noting that some of the proposed changes could run afoul of the Due Process Clause.July 29, 2021 - Bloomberg Law
Grassley Bill Aims to Slow DOJ's Pushback on Whistleblower Suits
This article analyzing Senator Chuck Grassley’s proposed False Claims Act bill quotes Washington, DC Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense partner Adam Tarosky on how the proposed amendments could have a chilling effect on DOJ dismissal motions.Aug 2, 2021 - Law360
J&J hip implant FCA case tossed over secret info use
This article covers a significant litigation win, in which a federal judge dismissed a nearly decade-long False Claims Act lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson entities over allegedly defective hip replacement devices, noting that two whistleblower physicians used confidential information in their complaint. The article mentions Boston partners Mark Seltzer and Hannah Bornstein and associate Colin Missett, and Washington, DC partner Adam Tarosky—all of the Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense group—for representing J&J and its related entities.Dec 8, 2021 - The Banking Law Journal
Whistleblower-initiated FCA investigation highlights risks to PPP borrowers, other pandemic relief beneficiaries
A cross-practice team contributed this article covering the first False Claims Act settlement over Paycheck Protection Program funds that arose from a whistleblower complaint, and it offers insight on the implications of this action for other beneficiaries of coronavirus relief. The NP team comprises Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense practice group leader and Manchester partner David Vicinanzo; Washington, DC partner Adam Tarosky, and Chicago partner Christopher Hotaling, both of the GIWC group; Boston Complex Commercial Disputes partner Morgan Nighan; and New York Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy partner Robert Christmas.Dec 13, 2021 - Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report
First circuit adds to circuit split over governments dismissal of False Claims Act litigation
Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense partners Hannah Bornstein and Brian French, of the Boston office, and Adam Tarosky, of the Washington, DC office, co-authored this article covering a circuit court ruling that offers a new standard of review for the government’s dismissal of False Claims Act whistleblower claims.June 10, 2022 - Bloomberg Law
Justices to clarify DOJ power to end whistleblower suits
Washington, DC Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense partner and False Claims Act team leader Adam Tarosky is quoted in this roundup of reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court reviewing whether a whistleblower’s lawsuit—alleging that Executive Health Resources defrauded Medicare—should have proceeded despite opposition from the Justice Department.June 21, 2022 - Bloomberg Law
Truckers, babysitters targeted by feds in pandemic loan cases
Washington, DC Government Investigations & White Collar Defense partner and False Claims Act team leader Adam Tarosky is quoted in this article on the government’s use of the FCA to target alleged Paycheck Protection Program fraud. Adam notes that the government has been initially pursuing the more egregious cases under criminal statute because they tend to move faster than civil cases, which Adam anticipates will make up the next wave of COVID-19 fraud enforcement.July 11, 2022
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