Schilling cites a 2009 amendment to the DOJ’s FCA policy that expanded the boundaries of where it can be applied. He said now a claim can include a request for money made to a recipient of government funds.
Consumers complained to the CFPB about debt collection issues at a substantially reduced level during the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB. During the period ending Dec. 31, 2015, consumer gripes were down 27.5 percent versus the previous quarter.Among the top 50 companies as ranked by consumer criticisms, 45 saw a double-digit percentage decline. Year over year, the story is less inspirational, with consumer kvetching down a mere 0.6 percent. Six companies saw complaints leap by triple digit percentages. To put some anecdotal flesh on these empirical bones, in the CFPB’s most recent supervisory highlights report, the bureau pointed out that during its examination of at least one debt collector, ...
The False Claims Act could potentially apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in the future, thanks to increased GSE cases and a broadened claim definition. The risk of the Department of Justice applying the FCA to GSE loans may seem remote, said Andrew Schilling, partner with BuckleySander LLP, but he isn’t counting it out. …