Powers Senior Counsel Larry Gondelman recently obtained a dismissal of an amended complaint on behalf of his client in a False Claims Act case, which was originally dismissed a year ago.
Larry’s client, a third-party financial aid servicer, was alleged to have assisted an educational institution in violating the False Claims Act regarding Title IV funds. While the client was hired by the educational institution in July 2017, the complaint alleged that the client aided the submission of false claims by concealing false claims made prior to July 2017. The complaint also alleged that after it was hired, the client assumed the responsibility for loan processing and improperly disbursed Title IV funds in violation of the Act.
The case was dismissed on August 14, 2019 after Larry argued that his client could not be liable for any claims made by the institution prior to being hired in July 2017 and that the plaintiff had failed to provide the requisite degree of particularity with respect to the funds allegedly improperly disbursed subsequent to the client’s hiring.
In response to the dismissal, the plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint in an attempt to address the defects in the complaint that were the basis for the court’s dismissal. Larry filed another motion to dismiss the amended complaint, which was again granted on August 24, 2020.
Larry is a Litigation Attorney that works primarily on behalf of healthcare and education clients. He regularly represents clients who receive subpoenas from the Office of Inspector General, face False Claims Act charges, are subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury, or become embroiled in civil or criminal litigation. Larry has represented numerous clients in investigations by various Offices of Inspector General, Assistant United States Attorneys, and several divisions of the Department of Justice. He has tried a wide variety of criminal cases involving public officials, government contractors and executives of corporations, and has also conducted many internal investigations on behalf of companies in connection with alleged misconduct by employees.
For more information, Larry can be reached at Larry.gondelman@powerslaw.com.