Bernard “Bernie” J. Ford is a Managing Director in the Disputes and Investigations practice, specializing in white-collar fraud defense matters, principally for health care entities including providers, payers, and pharmaceutical and medical device and diagnostics manufacturers. Bernie has assisted clients in many high-profile US civil and criminal investigations including matters involving alleged bribery, off-label promotion, Medicare and Medicaid fraud, and alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Laws, False Claims Act, Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act, and Foreign CPA. He also has significant expertise in assisting clients manage issues and investigations related to clinical research.
Bernie has served as an expert witness, participated in numerous negotiations with the government, and assisted counsel in the preparation and delivery of voluntary disclosures and refunds to the government. He is highly adept at creating financial damages methodologies and skilled in statistical methods used in large fraud investigations. He has used the knowledge gained in defending clients to assist in developing compliance programs and policies and procedures designed to promote compliant practices, to detect noncompliance, and to mitigate potential liability where noncompliance is identified. Bernie has assisted companies in developing both compliance monitoring and auditing programs and has served as an IRO.
He is the editor of the Navigant's quarterly publication, False Claims Act Case Tracker and serves as a speaker and author on fraud and compliance. He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association.