Todd Yoder’s practice focuses on representing qui tam whistleblowers in both federal litigation and whistleblower reward programs. In February 2020, Todd argued the precedent setting case of Barko v. KBR before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often regarded as the second most powerful court in the United States, behind the Supreme Court. Todd obtained a unanimous ruling on behalf of the whistleblower, and set nation-wide precedent limiting the ability of corporations to force whistleblowers (and other victims of employment discrimination) to pay exorbitant “costs” in lawsuits heard in federal court.
Todd specializes in representing qui tam relators in False Claims Act cases involving a wide range of industries, including healthcare, procurement, and set-aside government contracting. Additionally, Todd possesses vast experience in handling whistleblower claims reporting tax fraud, securities fraud, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations with the whistleblower programs of the IRS and SEC. Todd takes extraordinary pride in helping his clients expose illegal conduct and ensuring all culpable parties are held responsible. He has been instrumental in securing both equitable and monetary victories for whistleblowers.
Before joining Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto as an associate in 2016, Todd previously served as a law clerk for the National Whistleblower Center in 2014. He received his JD, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2016.
Promoting International Qui Tam Whistleblowing
Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto has played an instrumental role in advancing whistleblower rights worldwide. Currently the partners represent whistleblowers from every continent on earth (except Antarctica) in pursuing whistleblower reward cases under U.S. laws.
Steve Kohn has been sponsored by the U.S. Department of State to promote whistleblowing on a world-wide scale, including special seminars and programs in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia and Thailand. He has given major keynote addresses in Peru and Greece and presented in numerous international conferences and has testified on behalf of whistleblowers before the European Parliament and the Danish Parliament. Mike Kohn has made major international presentations in Poland, South Korea and Israel. The firm filed extensive comments supporting greater whistleblower protections in the now-approved European Directive on Whistleblowing.
Whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn and partners of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto regularly advise congress on crafting whistleblower laws. And play an instrumental role in drafting whistleblower protection laws, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act.
SEC & IRS Rulemaking
During the Dodd-Frank rulemaking process, our partners worked closely with the SEC to create an effective whistleblower program. Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto’s partners met personally with each of the five SEC Commissioners. They presented them with detailed reports and proposals setting forth rules that were essential to make the law work for Dodd-Frank whistleblowers as intended by Congress. Furthermore, Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto’s whistleblower attorneys seek to protect and enhance legal protections for tax fraud whistleblowers. Our firm has filed numerous internal revenue service rulemaking petitions, filed extensive briefs to the IRS and testified at IRS rulemaking hearsing to strengthen the tax whistleblower program.
[Read More]In recognition of the growing importance of whistleblower litigation, The National Law Journal named the whistleblower attorney and advocacy law firm of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto as one of top fifty plaintiff’s law firms in the United States. The firm’s partners were officially named as among “America’s Elite Trial Lawyers.” In its September 29, 2014 article, “Elite Trial Lawyers: The 50 Leading Plaintiff’s Firms in America,” the National Law Journal named Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto as one of the firm’s “doing the most creative and most important work in the courtroom.”
- 2013-2020 – A-V Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell®
- 2014 – “Elite Trial Lawyers” Designation, National Law Journal (Awarded to KKC LLP)
- 2014 – America’s Most Honored Professionals, American Registry (Awarded to KKC LLP)
- 2009 – Top Attorneys, Washington DC Super Lawyers (Awarded to KKC LLP)
- 2008 – Friend of the IEEE Award
- 2003 – “Hot List” of Plantiff’s Law Firms, National Law Journal
- United States ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton Co., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 9615 (D.C. Cir. 2020) (argued) — On appeal before the D.C. Circuit, successfully overturned lower court ruling which taxed over $58,000 in e-discovery costs against whistleblower Harry Barko in his False Claims Act case against KBR. The decision set critical precedent in the D.C. Circuit which shields plaintiffs in whistleblower, civil rights, employment, and other cases from being obligated to pay defendants’ often massive e-discovery bills.
- U.S. ex rel. Chepurko v. E-Biofuels, LLC, No. 1:14-cv-00377-TWP-MJD, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76075 (S.D. Ind. Apr. 30, 2020) — Substantially assisted in securing a $69,610,999 summary judgment ruling in favor of the relator and United States for False Claims Act violations related to a massive fraudulent bio-diesel manufacturing scheme.
What Clients are Saying
“Todd argued my case against KBR before one of the highest court’s in the land. He won. That says it all.”
Todd’s Latest Thinking
Over $58 Million in False Claims Act Settlements Announced This Week by DOJ
Two separate False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases were settled by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) this week, recovering a total of up to $58 million in taxpayer dollars. Of this total, the whistleblowers who brought the two cases will receive nearly $8.5 million in whistleblower rewards under the qui tam provisions of the FCA. The FCA allows a private individual, who has inside knowledge of fraud resulting in a financial loss to the United States government, to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government in federal court. Once the government recovers damages in the case, the whistleblower who initiated the lawsuit is eligible for a reward of between 15-30% of the total amount recovered. The first settlement, announced by DOJ on Monday, April 27, involved Genova Diagnostics Inc. (“Genova”), a clinical laboratory services company located in North Carolina. Genova agreed to pay up to $43 million to resolve ...
DOJ Settles Another False Claims Act Case Against Nursing Facility for Overbilling Medicare Through Unnecessary Therapy Treatments
The pervasive practice of nursing facilities administering unnecessary therapy treatments to their residents in order to receive the highest level of Medicare reimbursement has again resulted in a False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlement. On April 14, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Saber Healthcare Group LLC (“Saber”) agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations that its therapy services at nine of its nursing facilities led to the submission of false claims to Medicare. The case emphasizes DOJ’s commitment to protecting seniors in nursing facilities, as well as the tax dollars, which often reimburse their care through federally funded programs such as Medicare. The alleged acts by Saber track the fraudulent therapy practices that have led to other FCA settlements recently announced by DOJ. This case was initially brought by three whistleblowers, Hope Wright, Laura Webb, and Deborah Edmonds, under the qui tam provisions of the FCA. The ...
DOJ Announces Four New False Claims Act Settlements
Last week brought multiple announcements of new False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Of the four cases which settled, three were initiated by whistleblowers under the FCA’s qui tam provisions, while the fourth was closely related to a previously settled qui tam case. The FCA allows a private individual, with inside knowledge of fraud resulting in a financial loss to the United States Government, to file a lawsuit on behalf of the Government in federal court. Once the Government recovers any damages in the case, the whistleblower who initiated the lawsuit is eligible for a reward of between 15-30% of the total amount recovered. First, DOJ announced on Monday, April 6, that it settled a qui tam FCA lawsuit with Georgia-based MiMedx Group Inc. (“MiMedx”) for $6.5 million. Former MiMedx sales representatives brought the lawsuit originally, which claimed that MiMedx defrauded the United States Department ...
Our Client Received the Largest Whistleblower Reward in World History of $104 Million
Bradley Birkenfeld broke the back of Swiss bank secrecy. He was the first Swiss banker to file a case under the IRS whistleblower law. The results were unprecedented. UBS bank (at the time the largest bank in the world) had to pay a fine of $780 million. They also had to close all known U.S. accounts, and for the first time in history, the bank turned over the names of 4450 U.S. taxpayers for prosecution in the United States. Mr. Birkenfeld obtained the largest ever individual qui tam whistleblower award in history, $104 million.
