Education:
Columbia University School of Law, New York
J.D. - 1992
Mississippi College
B.A., with High Honors and Special Distinction – 1989
Practice and Representative Cases:
- Former Assistant United States Attorney
- Handled dozens of whistleblower (qui tam) and other health care fraud cases on behalf of the United States Department of Justice against hospitals, nursing homes, ambulance companies, mental health centers, medical supply companies, laboratories, physician clinics, therapy providers, home health companies, hospices, and other health care providers
- Represented numerous private whistleblowers throughout the United States in qui tam actions brought under the False Claims Act against hospitals, nursing homes, medical equipment companies, physicians, Department of Defense contractors, FEMA contractors, NASA contractors, student loan providers, proprietary colleges, and other recipients of Federal funds
- Successful jury trials of criminal health care fraud cases, including a 10-week federal court trial of ambulance company owners that resulted in Mississippi’s longest prison sentences in a health care fraud prosecution
- Represented aerospace engineers in criminal and civil trade secret theft cases
- Obtained substantial recovery on behalf of 25 families victimized as part of a multi-million dollar international investment scam
- Represented hundreds of prison employees in Fair Labor Standards Act litigation
- Represented numerous white-collar criminal defendants in complex prosecutions
- Significant recoveries for personal injury plaintiffs
- Represented former Wellcare employee in Florida who received portion of $137.5 million settlement with Wellcare Health Plans
- Represented physician clinic employee who received portion of $900 million settlement with Tenet Healthcare
- Represented owner of Alabama medical equipment company in case against competitor that resulted in substantial False Claims Act recovery and criminal conviction of defendant
- Represented New York physician assistant in successful False Claims Act settlement with New York dermatologist in case alleging fraud against New York Medicaid program
- Represented owner of medical equipment company in successful False Claims Act settlement with competitor accused of paying kickbacks for referrals
Professional Recognition:
Fulbright Scholar- Professor of Law, Lund University, Sweden (2005-2006)
Distinguished Alumnus of the Year- Mississippi College Department of History and Political Science (2010)
Received "Integrity Award" from United States Department of Health and Human Services in recognition of outstanding service in protection of federal health care programs
Named to 2003 "Top 40 Under 40" list by Mississippi Business Journal
Law Clerk to Judge William H. Barbour, Jr., Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
Mid-South Super Lawyer
Lectures and Teaching:
- Taught and conducted research at Lund University School of Law and Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Sweden
- Lectured throughout Sweden, in Beijing and Wuhan, China, and in Sofia, Bulgaria regarding issues of fraud investigation and prosecution, civil rights, and integration of immigrant groups in Western Europe
- Moderator, International Symposium for Human Rights Lawyers, Stockholm, Sweden (2009-2012)
- Over 40 presentations locally and nationally regarding False Claims Act and health care fraud litigation
- Adjunct Professor, Trial Practice - Mississippi College School of Law
- Frequent lecturer in Mississippi College Health Care Administration program
- Coached several high school mock trial teams
Professional and Community Involvement:
- Admitted in United States Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
- Chair, New Horizon Ministries Board of Directors
- Stewpot Community Services - Board of Directors
- Habitat for Humanity - Volunteer Coordinator
- Taxpayers Against Fraud
