Amy L. Easton

Amy Easton, a partner at Phillips & Cohen, is a former federal prosecutor who brings exceptional skills and extensive investigation and litigation experience to her whistleblower cases.

As a Senior Trial Attorney at the US Department of Justice, Ms. Easton investigated and prosecuted many significant healthcare fraud cases, including those based on whistleblower qui tam lawsuits, and cases involving other types of fraud against the government.

Ms. Easton’s successes include a settlement of $22 million against a Medicaid Advantage plan in Maine and New Hampshire, alleging the company committed fraud by making patients appear to be sicker than they really were to obtain higher payments from Medicare.  Easton also helped secure a $17 million settlement against SouthEast Eye Specialists and its subsidiaries to resolve allegations that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act for illegally inducing eye doctors to refer patients to SEES for cataract surgeries. In 2024, Easton helped secure a settlement with Atlantic Home Health Care for $9.9 million to settle allegations the company treated patients by telephone suffering from radiation exposure who required in-home patient care.

Easton also worked on behalf of a whistleblower client on a lawsuit against UPMC and James Luketich MD that settled for $8.5 million. The government intervened in the case, which alleged that UPMC had violated the False Claims Act by billing federal healthcare programs in violation of federal medical necessity and teaching physician requirements based on Dr. Luketich regularly performing as many as three complex surgical procedures at the same time.  The government’s complaint alleged that this practice resulted in extended anesthesia time for patients and potential serious health consequences. As part of the resolution of the case, UPMC and Dr. Luketich also agreed to monitoring of billing practices by an independent auditor.

Ms Easton also helped secure a $50 million settlement that Wheeling Hospital paid to settle allegations that the West Virginia hospital violated the False Claims Act, the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute by improperly paying millions in excessive compensation to doctors that was above fair market value and based on the volume or value of patient referrals to the hospital. The case is significant for the amount that a single hospital paid to settle allegations that it violated the Stark Law.

In a separate qui tam case brought by Ms. Easton that alleged fraud involving Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief funds, Xavier University of Louisiana paid $12 million to the government to settle its liability. DOJ intervened in the case and has joined Phillips & Cohen to pursue litigation against another defendant, multinational engineering firm AECOM.

For her whistleblower work, Ms. Easton has been recognized by Lawdragon on its “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” list and by Washingtonian magazine as one of its “Top Lawyers” in Washington, DC.

While at DOJ, Ms. Easton was a lead prosecutor in many successful whistleblower cases that the government joined, including:

• A qui tam whistleblower lawsuit against more than 500 hospitals in 43 states, making it one of the largest qui tam cases ever. The hospitals paid a total of more than $280 million to settle allegations that they had implanted heart devices known as cardioverter defibrillators too soon after patients’ heart attacks or heart surgery. Medicare regulations require a waiting period to give the heart time to heal.
• One of the largest False Claims Act cases brought against an individual physician, who allegedly subjected patients to unnecessary CT scans and other imaging studies.
• Multiple cases involving violations of the Stark regulations and the Anti-Kickback Act alleging prohibited financial relationships between hospitals and doctors.
• A Medicaid fraud case against a major retail pharmacy chain involving overcharging for prescription drugs.

Ms. Easton also investigated and resolved whistleblower cases involving other types of fraud against the government, such as one alleging fraudulent claims for payment submitted to Amtrak and the US Department of Transportation by a contractor and a separate case against a bank involving alleged fraud in mortgage loans submitted to US Housing and Urban Development.

Lawdragon recognized Ms. Easton’s work on behalf of whistleblowers by including her on its national list of the “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” for 2019, 2020, and 2021.

She was awarded the Department of Justice Special Commendation Award in 2015.

Prior to joining the Justice Department, Ms. Easton worked for a Washington, DC, law firm, where she focused on complex commercial litigation. Her responsibilities included leading an investigation of a financial institution tied to the Enron bankruptcy.

She is a frequent speaker at conferences for healthcare and compliance professionals on False Claims Act and qui tam topics.

Ms. Easton earned her law degree from The Ohio State University College of Law. Following graduation, she was a judicial law clerk for US Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. She is admitted to the bar in Washington, DC, and Ohio.