G. Norman Acker III is of counsel and a member of the firm's Health Care and FDA practice. Norman brings more than three decades of experience as an Assistant United States Attorney to help guide clients facing government False Claims Act investigations or other allegations of fraud or abuse of government programs. While he was an AUSA, he recovered more than $100 million in FCA damages, and tried multiple cases from complaint to verdict. One notable case for which he was lead counsel was the Tuomey Healthcare case, the first FCA case based on the Stark Law that was tried to a jury anywhere in the country. The court awarded a judgment for $273 Million, which was the largest judgment against a single hospital ever obtained by the government up to that date. For more than 20 years, he not only handled his own caseload of FCA cases, but supervised multiple other AUSAs as he oversaw all civil fraud cases and health care fraud cases in the Eastern District of North Carolina. He also served as the Civil Chief, supervising approximately 12 AUSA plus numerous Special Assistant United States Attorneys, paralegals, and other support staff. During his last four years as a federal prosecutor, he was the First Assistant United States Attorney, overseeing all civil, criminal, and appellate litigation in the office, as well as being responsible for the budget and administrative functions in the office. In his last year there, he was the Acting United States Attorney, the highest law enforcement officer in the Eastern District of North Carolina. At the firm, Norman routinely advises health care clients about the risks of federal enforcement actions, including Stark and Anti-kickback issues and other health care regulatory issues. He also conducts internal investigations at the request of his clients, either in preparation for a voluntary disclosure to the government, or in response to information requests from the government. In addition, he helps clients respond to subpoenas or Civil Investigative Demands, negotiates settlements of such government investigations, or litigates these cases, when necessary.
Prior to joining the firm, Norman served as acting US attorney, the chief federal law enforcement officer in the Eastern District of North Carolina. That office is responsible for prosecuting all federal crimes in the district, including drug crimes, violent crimes, white collar fraud, terrorism, and public corruption. The US Attorney's Office (USAO) also represents the United States in civil court, handling a wide variety of civil litigation. He previously served as an assistant US attorney for more than 30 years, focusing his practice on the investigation and civil prosecution of health care fraud and other fraud against the government. In this capacity, he worked closely with the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division (NC-MID), the Department of Defense Criminal Investigation Service (DCIS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies. For 17 years, he served as the Deputy Chief of the Civil Division, where he both handled his own case load of civil fraud and health care fraud cases, and supervisedas well as supervising all of the civil fraud, health care fraud, and False Claims Act cases for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He has received numerous awards and commendations from federal and state agencies in recognition of his collection of more than US$100 million in connection with False Claims Act litigation. He served briefly as the civil chief, supervising all civil litigation for the USAO, before becoming the first assistant, supervising all civil, criminal, and appellate litigation in the office.
- Litigation Skills for Civil Attorneys, National Advocacy Center, January 12, 2017.
- Trial Practice Demonstration - U.S. ex rel Drakeford v. Tuomey, ABA National Institute on Health Care Fraud, 13 May 2016.
- Health Care Fraud Panel Discussion, North Carolina Bar Association, April 29, 2016.
- Case Study: Tuomey Health Care, North Carolina Health Care Compliance Association, March 18, 2016.
- Key Developments and Enforcement Trends Under the False Claims Act, Healthcare Litigation Conference, August 14, 2014.
- Professional Responsibility and Parallel Proceedings, United States Attorney’s Office, 2004 - 2014.
- Civil Litigation Advisor: Civil Trial Advocacy, National Advocacy Center, 2001 - 2003.
- Emergency Matters, Civil Federal Practice Seminar, National Advocacy Center, 1994 - 2001.
- Maintaining Tough Fraud and Abuse Enforcement While Encouraging Voluntary Disclosures, N.C. Society of Health Care Attorneys, October 6, 2000.
- Leadership Perspectives, Healthcare Best Compliance Practices Seminar, Health Ethics Trust, May 20, 1999.
- Federal Enforcement of Health Care Fraud, North Carolina Bar Association Health Law Section Conference, March 27, 1998.
- Federal False Claims Act, 18th Annual Health Care Law Forum, East Carolina University Medical School, September 10, 1996.
- Federal False Claims Act, National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, November 30, 1995.
- Combating Health Care Fraud and Abuse, Health Care Fraud Conference, United States Attorney’s Office, June 7, 1995.
- “Scienter Center Stage,” American Bar Association, 27 March 2023
- “Scienter to Become Front and Center: Developments in the FCA’s Objectively Reasonable Interpretation Defense,” Federal Bar Association, January 2023
- Quoted, “Trump guilty verdict widens political divide,” WNG.org (WORLD), 30 May 2024
- Mentioned, "4th Circ. Upholds $237M FCA Verdict Against SC Hospital," Law360, 2 July 2015
- Quoted, “N.C. Must Repay Feds $24 Million,” StarNews Online, 23 September 2003
