Habib Ilahi*

Partner
[email protected]

Team Member Profile

Habib Ilahi is a Partner at Fluet in the Litigation + Investigations and Government Contracts Practices, where he leads the firm’s False Claims Act (FCA) Practice. Mr. Ilahi counsels business entities in highly regulated industries through complex procurement, healthcare, and other government enforcement investigations and litigation, as well as through general white-collar criminal and civil defense matters.

Mr. Ilahi has unique experience representing clients on all three sides of the FCA, as defense counsel, relator’s counsel, and government counsel during his tenure at the Department of Justice. As defense counsel, Mr. Ilahi has advised and represented large and small government contractors, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, hospital systems, national nursing home and long-term care facility chains, state and federal grant recipients, and a variety of other types of businesses and individuals in FCA investigations and litigation involving government programs.

Mr. Ilahi’s practice extends beyond FCA matters to include advising and representing numerous government contractors and foreign and domestic business entities in criminal, civil, and administrative government investigations. These matters involve government contracting and procurement fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, securities and accounting fraud, tax fraud, civil and criminal conflict of interest violations, lobbying violations, and sanctions and export-control violations.

Mr. Ilahi’s practice is defined by his extensive background in government enforcement, white-collar defense, and complex civil litigation. As a former federal prosecutor with the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice, Civil Division, he handled significant matters involving the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the Stark Law. His experience also includes serving as Special Counsel to the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, where he advised on criminal justice and opioid enforcement issues and drafted landmark legislation to address synthetic opioid manufacturing. With over 20 years in private practice, Mr. Ilahi has represented clients in a wide range of white-collar criminal matters and high-stakes investigations. Throughout his career in both government service and private practice, Mr. Ilahi has remained a dedicated advocate for clients navigating intricate regulatory and legal challenges.

In his free time, you can find Mr. Ilahi spending time with his wife Kate and their two children at the lacrosse, soccer, and flag football fields.

*Habib Ilahi is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and Texas.

  • Obtained $65 million FCA settlement from Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. to resolve allegations that Prime hospitals in California submitted false claims to Medicare through various upcoding schemes.
  • Represented whistleblower/relator in FCA action resulting in $24 million settlement to resolve Stark Law violations pertaining to group practice/in-office ancillary services exception.
  • Represented national Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contractor defendant in FCA litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia involving ARRA Section 1603 energy grants and obtained dismissal of complaint.
  • Represented former Chief Technology Officer of publicly traded technology company in eight-week long civil securities fraud trial involving the Securities and Exchange Commission, resulting in client being found not liable on all claims.
  • Represented former corporate counsel of marketing company in five-week long criminal conspiracy and mail fraud trial involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, resulting in acquittal of client on all counts.
  • Represented CEO in FCA investigation involving home health services and kickbacks led by Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
  • Represented physician medical director and target of FCA investigation, resulting in U.S. Attorney’s Office closing its investigation against the client.
  • Represented government contractor in internal investigation and successful response to a cure notice, involving a mandatory disclosure regarding potential FCA violations relating to its federal contract.
  • Represented publicly traded medical device manufacturer/federal government contractor in internal investigation and subsequent voluntary disclosure regarding potential government contracting violations, Federal Supply Schedule pricing issues, and FCA violations.
  • Represented several employees of publicly traded global supplier of test systems and industrial position sensors/federal government contractor in government contracting and FCA investigation regarding potential violations of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Addendum.
  • Represented drop shipper/federal government contractor in FCA investigation and subsequent settlement for Export Administration and other government contracting violations involving prohibited items on Government Services Administration schedule contract.
  • Represented Federal Emergency Management Agency Senior Executive Service employee in criminal and civil investigation and subsequent plea agreement and civil settlement involving conflicts of interest regarding a multimillion-dollar government contract for polling and consulting services.
  • Represented several employees of publicly traded oil services company in multi-year criminal and civil FCPA investigations led by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • Represented several employees of publicly traded REIT in investigation led by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • Managed multiple investigations involving a national hospital emergency department provider and alleged upcoding of Medicare claims and potential FCA and Anti-Kickback Statute violations.
  • Led investigation of physician-owned hospital for potential FCA, Anti-Kickback Statute, and Stark Law violations.
  • Led investigations of separate durable medical equipment providers and telemarketing companies for potential FCA and Anti-Kickback Statute violations.
  • Led investigations of separate national skilled nursing home chains for potential FCA violations involving understaffing and failure of care.
  • Partner, Schertler Onorato Mead Sears & Manning
  • Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Special Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia
  • J.D., University of Houston Law Center
  • B.A., University of Texas at Austin
  • District of Columbia Bar
  • Texas Bar
  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, Federal Bar Association