Whistleblower Lawyer Calls for Coronavirus Fraud Task Force

Attorney General William BarrPatrick Semansky/AP

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

As the federal government works to stop the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the grave economic disaster it has caused, one lawyer is urging the Department of Justice to set up a task force to stop potential fraudsters who might try to illegally profit from the crisis. 

On Monday, Stephen Kohn, an attorney who chairs the National Whistleblower Center, sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr requesting that the DOJ establish a task force “to monitor and investigate violations of the False Claims Act” in cases of coronavirus-related fraud. “You’re looking at a situation that is so ripe for these bottom-feeders to start stealing,” Kohn tells Mother Jones. “They’re horrible, and they’re out there.”

In his letter, Kohn warns Barr that there could be a surge of violations of the False Claims Act—an 1863 law that holds federal contractors liable for defrauding government programs—related to the coronavirus pandemic. Most recently, the Justice Department launched an initiative to target violations and abuses of the False Claims Act at nursing homes. But, with President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that his administration will partner with the private sector to expand COVID-19 testing, there’s an increased opportunity for people and companies to take advantage and illegally profit from the situation. 

Kohn knows these types of bottom-feeders well. He represented a whistleblower who exposed a FEMA contractor hired to help with disaster relief efforts—including the response to the 9/11 attacks—that stole $2.5 million in government funds. Though Kohn thinks it’s inevitable some people will try to defraud the government in its COVID-19 response, a preemptive effort by the DOJ could send a strong message. 

Among the recommendations Kohn outlines in his letter is a “prompt and aggressive” response to any allegations of coronavirus-related fraud, especially fraud that impacts patient care. In addition, Kohn recommends that the DOJ prioritize investigations and prosecutions of all coronavirus-related fraud cases, since it sometimes takes more than a year for False Claims Act violations to be investigated. Kohn wants the DOJ to launch whistleblower investigations based on a disclosure statement—the first step for a whistleblower to report wrongdoing—instead of waiting until there’s a formal complaint made in federal court, which he says is often a lengthy process that rarely results in a DOJ investigation. Furthermore, Kohn’s letter recommends that if a whistleblower’s complaint is found to lack merit, the whistleblower should “be immediately informed” so that they can continue to work without worrying about the legality of what they saw.

“The attorney general announcing this task force and publicizing it will have a deterrent effect. Period,” Kohn says. “Because people know about this law and are scared of it.”

You can read Kohn’s full letter below: 

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate