The Qui Tam Blog

How much is Hurricane Ike’s cleanup really costing the taxpayer? It turns out that that costs may be more than you think for reasons that may surprise you. Joel Androphy weighs in on two examples “suspcicious” money trails following Hurricane Ike. See what he says about the following ABC News investigations that are currently underway.

Following the Money Trail After Ike
“It’s very suspicious. The circumstances,” said KTRK Legal Analyst Joel Androphy. Read More

Are Your Tax Dollars Paying for a Family Affair in Chambers and Liberty Counties?
“If the public has a right to bid on a contract, everyone has a right to bid. Number one, it’s fair. It gets the government the best price. And it gives everyone an opportunity to compete,” Androphy said. Read More

In an attempt to speed up civil fraud investigations in the U.S., Attorney General Eric Holder expanded the power of the False Claims Act by signing an order allowing U.S. Attorneys to issue civil investigative demands under the Act.

Civil investigative demand allows for a subpoena of documents, depositions and interrogatories. Currently the Justice Department can issue these investigative demands before it files a complaint or before signing on to qui tam litigation. This makes the information accessible before the potential defendant can conduct its own discovery.

Until this year, the Attorney General could exclusively approve civil investigative demands. Because of this limitation, they were not common. Last spring, however, an anti-fraud bill made its way through congress and subsequently established the practice of allowing the Attorney General to delegate the power to Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. In a further expansion, Attorney General Holder also allowed Assistant Attorney General Tony West to redelegatee such powers to U.S. Attorneys, with notice and reporting requirement.

Last month, ABC News consulted attorney Joel Androphy on the costs that Toyota will be facing, following the significant number of car malfunctions that have left Toyota drivers injured, scared and distraught. See what he has to say in this article about a legal case involving an injured Toyota driver who experienced sudden acceleration and accident.

Local family files lawsuit against Toyota
…”Toyota is going to have to set aside billions and billions of dollars in order to compensate consumers, not only from just traffic accidents but everything from the value of the car to fender benders to people’s emotional damages,” said KTRK Legal Analyst Joel Androphy. Read More