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5 Things Businesses Should Know About The False Claims Act

February 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

5 Things Businesses Should Know About The False Claims Act

As a business owner, it is crucial for you to know how laws affect your daily operations. From a financial and moral perspective, knowing these laws will often determine if your business will be a success or come under federal scrutiny. Unfortunately, each year, many business owners find themselves squarely within the cross-hairs of the False Claims Act, a law designed to catch business owners who defraud the government. With that in mind, consider the following:

1. Governments Contracts
As with any contract, you, as a business owner, are required to abide by the terms of any contract you agree to with the government. Because the False Claims Act strictly speaks to contractors who become involved with the government, it’s important for you to understand it. Essentially, you need to educate yourself and your employees regarding the Act itself and what practices it defines, bars and permits.

2. Blowing the Whistle
If your company is found to be in violation of the False Claims Act, it may be sued for its actions. Essentially, the law allows citizens to act on behalf of the government to sue companies that are engaging in fraud against the government. As a reward for doing the right thing, such citizens are offered a portion of the successful judgment, and these portions can be up to 30 percent. It’s important to know that someone like a Goldberg whistleblower attorney will be extremely effective in fighting to convict your business should you move against the False Claims Act. And also, keep in mind that money is a motivating factor in the decisions of many people, meaning you never know when an supposed trusted and loyal employee will turn your company in for illicit dealings with the government.

3. Disclosure
Prior to 2010, cases involving the False Claims Act were struck down if they involved public disclosure arguments, but today, such cases are allowed to proceed. What this means for your business is that you must disclose everything that you offer publicly to the government when the information becomes available. For instance, if you offer a special discount to a certain set of consumers, yet you don’t offer this same discount to the government, you must disclose this information or else your company may be in violation of the law.

4. Overpayments
In addition, your business must also report any overpayments by the government or you may be at risk of violating the False Claims Act. Overpayments might seem like a nice bit of extra money, but if someone reports you for them, you’ll likely be sued. When you are, you’ll not only need to reimburse the government for the overpayments, but you’ll also be penalized for violating the law.

5. Kickbacks
You need to realize that referring customers, vendors, or partners to governmental services that will benefit your business is a violation of the Act. If your company is intentionally directing customers to government programs for the purpose of making more money for your business, this is considered a kickback, and it’s illegal.

One of the best ways to defend yourself and your business from the potential for falling victim to the False Claims Act is to ensure that you and your employees are educated. In addition, you may consider partnering with a False Claims Act attorney to discuss your current business practices and government contracts. Even if you feel that all of your practices are legal, they might not be, and an attorney will be able to give you expert advice and direction to ensure your company’s success for many years to come.

Featured images:

Saam Banai is a freelance writer and editor and advocate for legal and moral business practices. If you wish to educate yourself on the False Claims Act, or if you know of the illegal actions of a business, contact a Goldberg whistleblower attorney from the firm Goldberg Kohn Ltd. The attorneys at their firm are committed to aiding in the fight against defrauding the government, recovering as large a share of any recovery as possible, and protecting your rights.

Filed Under: Financial Crimes Tagged With: , , , , ,

What Happens if You Don’t Properly Secure Your Website

July 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Website security is vital if you want to achieve success with an online business. Many things can happen if you don’t have the right security and one hacker can completely ruin your success overnight. Hackers prey on websites and blogs with very little security and use these web properties to steal personal information, college credit card numbers, and ruin the reputation of the webmaster that owns the site.

If you don’t take the right action to secure your website, you could end up being the victim of identity theft. Even worse, the hacker could use your site to steal information from your visitors, while making it look like you stole the information. You don’t want to wake up one day and find out you are charged with a felony because of someone else’s actions.

How to Ensure Your Site is Secure

There are many precautions you can take to secure your website or blog. It starts with your hosting type and the company you get your hosting from. If you choose a low quality hosting company, you may be at risk. It would be like getting your Mustang parts from a junk yard instead of a top company like CJ Pony Mustang Parts.

Make sure the hosting company you choose gives you the most recent security options. If they don’t offer top security options, they probably are not worth the money you spend for your package. Look into what they offer and compare it to a few other top hosting companies before you settle on the company for the foundation of your website.

You may also want to consider virtual private server hosting or dedicated server hosting. Both of these options offer custom security options you cannot get with shared web hosting. If you need a higher level of security, you will need more than just shared hosting. Compare all three types of hosting before making your final decision.

Once you decide on the right hosting to help secure your website, you need to take action. Make sure you take advantage of all the options offered from the hosting company like a dedicated IP address and a private SSL certificate. You may also want to consider using a content management system (CMS) for even more security.

A top CMS choice is WordPress. If you use WordPress, you will gain access to specific plugins that can help you secure your website or blog even better. This can give you the added security to make sure someone doesn’t hack into your site and steal information from you or those visiting your website.

It doesn’t matter if your site is titled “Click for Mustang Radiators” or something else. Security is very important and if you don’t take actions, even the smallest site can become compromised.

This post made possible by guest blogger CJ, a writer with varied interests, including CJ Pony Mustang Parts and internet marketing.

Filed Under: Financial Crimes, Identity Theft, Security Tagged With: , ,

Business Procedures to Dispose of Confidential Waste

July 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The word Confidential surrounded by some shredded papersMany businesses have personal and confidential information about their clients. It is important how businesses handle the confidential documents that they no longer require. The customer’s privacy and identity must be preserved. Businesses can be held liable if any information about customers is released or obtained from their location in any way, even by theft. This may include information such as address, phone number, spending habits, or credit card information.

Most businesses have policies in place that all customer information is shredded to protect their privacy and identity. However, in large companies this can be problematic. Not only could shredders be worn out very quickly and trash bins filled to overflowing, but employees could spend entirely too much time shredding documents and not enough time servicing customers.

There are solutions for dealing with confidential waste in these larger companies. One of the common procedures for handling confidential information requires several steps, and may require the hiring of an additional employee and a disposal service such as Shred it. However, the end results are very desirable.

First, employees are given recycling tubs, baskets or large trash cans in which they can put confidential waste. These bins are then picked up by an employee at the end of the day, and the contents are shredded in industrial shredders. Industrial shredders are much more likely to last a long period of time than smaller office shredders. In addition, this way employees’ time is better spent than in shredding documents throughout the day.

Whether the company is large or small, the problem of what to do with the shredded material is also one that must be addressed. It is not wise to simply throw out shredded materials, because they could easily be pieced together, destroying customer confidentiality. Again, there is a simple solution.

There are companies out there whose sole purpose is to help businesses dispose of confidential waste. These companies provide large trash bins for shredded materials to be emptied into. These trash bins are then collected weekly or biweekly by the company. The shredded material is immediately processed by first separating it so that it cannot be pieced together.

Different disposal companies handle the waste in different ways. Some of the companies burn the shredded material so that there is no likelihood that it is ever discovered. Other companies take the shredded material directly to a trash facility, which cuts out the possibility of trash being rummaged through at the curb or by trash company employees.

Regardless of the procedure that you choose, you should ensure the safety of confidential client information. You do not want your business held liable for information stolen from your trash receptacles. Be certain that your methods are solidly in place and cover every circumstance, and that all employees are trained and on board.

This post has been provided by Shred-it; Leaders in on demand and scheduled document destruction and paper shredding services across the globe.
Filed Under: Guest Posts, Identity Theft, Security Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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