aPhone: (404) 262-6505
Email: sgrubman@cglawfirm.com

When healthcare providers, C-suite executives, elected officials, fellow attorneys, and even sitting judges need legal representation in high-stakes criminal and civil matters, they have turned to Scott Grubman.  Scott is a former Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) and Department of Justice Trial Attorney who represents businesses and individuals across a wide variety of industries in connection with government and internal investigations, False Claims Act litigation, and white collar criminal defense.

Although Scott represents clients across industries, a substantial portion of his practice involves representing healthcare providers of all types and sizes in connection with high-stakes government investigations – both criminal and civil – by agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice, HHS-OIG, the FBI, and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.  Scott also has extensive experience representing healthcare providers in connection with administrative proceedings, payor audits, and general healthcare regulatory matters, particularly those related to the False Claims Act (including qui tam whistleblower actions), Stark Law, and Anti-Kickback Statute.  He has represented healthcare clients ranging from multi-hospital health systems to individual physicians, ancillary providers, and every type and size in between.  He served as lead trial counsel in Georgia’s first-ever False Claims Act trial, which resulted in a favorable settlement after 4 days of testimony.

In addition to his healthcare clients, Scott also regularly represents clients who are being investigated for, or who have been charged with, white collar crimes, including fraud, embezzlement, theft, and public corruption.  He has first-chaired numerous criminal and civil jury trials in both federal and state courts, and has handled criminal and civil appeals.  Scott is skilled and experienced in handling high-profile investigations as his matters have garnered substantial attention by the international, national, and local news media. He has also represented individuals in connection with Congressional investigations, including the representation of a key witness before the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (the “January 6 Committee”).  Scott has a reputation for passionately defending his clients both inside and outside of the courtroom.  

After graduating from law school with highest honors and then clerking for two federal judges (both U.S. District and U.S. Circuit Courts), Scott was accepted into the Attorney General Honor’s Program, first serving as a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and then as an AUSA in Savannah, Georgia, where he investigated and prosecuted healthcare and other white collar fraud cases, and was a member of his district’s Healthcare Fraud Task Force.  He also represented the United States as lead counsel in dozens of cases in both federal District Court and before the Eleventh Circuit, including felony criminal investigations and prosecutions, criminal and civil appeals, habeas, constitutional claims, and asset forfeiture.  He was awarded a Special Commendation by the DOJ, and was recognized by HHS-OIG for his government service.

Scott has published dozens of articles on healthcare fraud and white collar crime topics in nationally-recognized journals and publications, and regularly presents at healthcare and white collar crime conferences and seminars nationwide. He  serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at both Emory University and Georgia State University law schools, where he teaches courses on white collar crime and healthcare fraud and abuse.  Scott has helped to train lawyers on trial advocacy skills both domestically and internationally, including serving on the faculty of a week-long NITA trial advocacy training program in Lagos, Nigeria.  He also serves in leadership positions in state and national organizations, including the American Health Law Association (AHLA), the Federal Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the State Bar of Georgia.  He has been quoted by both national and local news organizations on issues related to healthcare fraud and abuse and white collar crime, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, MSNBC, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Areas of Practice

• White Collar Criminal Defense 
• Healthcare Investigations and Litigation
• False Claims Act Litigation
• Government Investigations
• Internal Investigations
• Healthcare Regulatory & Compliance
• Criminal and Civil Appeals

Bar Admissions

• Georgia
• U.S. District Court for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia
• United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit

Education

University of Georgia School of Law, Athens, Georgia

• J.D., summa cum laude
• Order of the Coif
• Georgia Law Review, Articles Editor

Representative Cases

• Served as lead trial counsel in Georgia’s first-ever False Claims Act (FCA) trial, which resulted in favorable settlement after 4 days of testimony.
• Represented key witness before the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (the “January 6 Committee”) and the Fulton County Special Grand Jury investigating attempts to overthrow the 2020 presidential election.
• Secured dismissal of murder indictment against client, a former Fulton County jailer.
• Secured rare complete dismissal by court of multiple physician practices groups in connection with large FCA qui tam (whistleblower) action.
• Represented pharmacy in DOJ criminal investigation.  Successfully negotiated closure of criminal file without charges, and resolution on a civil, single-damages, overpayment refund basis.
• Represented physician after he received a “target letter” from DOJ.  Successfully negotiated closure of criminal file without charges.
• Represented physician in FCA qui tam action involving alleged violations of the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS).  After DOJ declined to intervene, whistleblower moved forward with litigation against all of the other (approximately 20) defendants, with Scott’s client being the only one who was completely dropped from the suit.
• Represented healthcare provider in connection with a joint federal/state investigation involving alleged violations of the FCA, Stark law, and AKS, resulting from qui tam action. Negotiated a highly favorable resolution pursuant to which case was dismissed with prejudice without any monetary settlement or compliance agreement.
• Represented large physician practice and affiliated surgery center in FCA qui tam action.  Secured a rare dismissal of the action by the DOJ.

Published Works

• CMS Proposes a Significant Change to Overpayment Refund Rules (AHLA Health Law Weekly, Jan. 2023) 
• Eighth Circuit Issues Significant Decision in False Claims Act Case Predicated Upon Alleged Kickbacks (AHLA Health Law Weekly, August 2022)
• The Government Giveth and the Government Taketh Away: Government Enforcement and Electronic Health Records (HCCA Compliance Today, July 2022)
• New Technology, Same Concerns:  Increased Government Scrutiny Related to Telehealth (AHLA Fraud & Abuse Bulletin May 2022)
• Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Bill to Amend the False Claims Act (AHLA Weekly August 2021)

• Reading the Tea Leaves: False Claims Act Enforcement under the Biden-Harris Administration (ABA Health Law Section)

• Eleventh Circuit Holds that the Government Need Not Prove a Payee’s Motivation for Accepting a Payment Under the Anti-Kickback Statute (ABA Health Law Section)

Most Recent Presentations

• Adjunct Professor, White Collar Crime, Emory University School of Law (2017-Present)
• Adjunct Professor, Healthcare Fraud and Abuse and White Collar Crime, Georgia State University College of Law (2015-Present)
• Keynote Speaker: DecisionHealth Billing & Compliance Summit (Dec. 2022)
• Speaker: American Medical Rehabilitation Association Annual Meeting (Oct. 2022)
• Speaker:  The Georgia Society of CPAs Annual Meeting (Sept. 2022)
• Speaker:  HCCA Chicago and Kansas City (Virtual) Regional Meeting (Aug. 2022)
• Speaker:  Florida Anesthesia Administrators’ Association Annual Meeting (June 2022)
• Speaker:  Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys (GAHA) Annual Meeting (May 2022)
• Speaker:  Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) Annual Meeting (April 2022)
  
• Speaker:  American Health Law Association (AHLA):  One Year Later: Speaker Programs Special Fraud Alert (March 2022)

Honors and Awards

• Recognition by Best Lawyers in America in the area of Qui Tam Law (2019, 2020, 2021 Editions)
• Super Lawyers Rising Star for Healthcare in Georgia (2015-2021)
• Daily Report On The Rise 40 Under 40
• Georgia Trend Magazine Legal Elite, 2014 & 2020
• American Bar Foundation Fellow
• U.S. Department of Justice, Special Commendation (2011)
• U.S. Department of Justice, John W. Douglas Award for Pro Bono Service (2011)
• Washington Council of Lawyers’ Government Pro Bono Award, DOJ Nominee
• Recognition by Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) for work combating healthcare fraud
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating

Professional Associations and Memberships

• American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA)
• Healthcare Litigation and Liability Practice Group – Vice Chair, 2016-Present
• Quality Council, 2015-2017
• Young Professional Council, 2015-2016
• Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys (GAHA)
• Board of Directors, 2017-Present
• American Bar Association, Health Law Section,
• Vice Chair, Publications Book Editorial Board (2021-Present)
• Vice Chair, Health Lawyer Editorial Board (2016-2021)
• State Bar of Georgia, Health Law Section
• Executive Committee (2019-Present)
• Health Care Compliance Association (HCAA)
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Lamar Inn of Court (2014-Present)
• Lumpkin Inn of Court (2014-2016)
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Lawyers Club of Atlanta
• Anti-Defamation League
• Southeast Region Board of Directors (2018-2021)
• Civil Rights Committee
• Oakhurst Medical Centers, Inc.
• Member, Board of Directors (2015-2019)

Past Employment Positions

• Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Georgia
• Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice
• Law Clerk, Honorable Joel F. Dubina, Chief Judge of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
• Law Clerk, Lisa Godbey Wood, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia