Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

$10 Million Settlement Reached in Whistleblower False Claims Act
  • USA - English


News provided by

Diamond McCarthy LLP

Apr 29, 2015, 09:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

Miami, Florida (PRWEB) April 29, 2015 -- The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and the Department of Justice, Miami-Dade County, and whistleblower Marjan Mazza have now finalized the settlement of a False Claims Act qui tam case brought by Ms. Mazza, on behalf of herself and the United States (Mazza v. Miami-Dade et al, case number 10-24546, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida). The Defendants were Miami-Dade County and the Miami Dade Transit Authority (collectively “MDT”), and whistleblower Mazza settled her retaliation claims against them at the same time. Ms. Mazza was represented in these proceedings by The Josephs Law Firm, Sadowski Fischer PLLC, and Diamond McCarthy LLP.

Pursuant to that settlement, Defendants are paying the United States $6,038,767.90, and the whistleblower is receiving the highest percentage allowed as a qui tam award under the False Claims Act. Ms. Mazza will receive an additional $1,664,106.05 settlement payment for her retaliation claims, and her attorneys will receive $2,250,000 million in attorneys' fees, for a total settlement payment, to the United States, Ms. Mazza, and her attorneys, of $9,952,873.95.

Miami Dade Transit operates the fifteenth-largest public transit system in the United States, with over 3,200 employees. Whistleblower Mazza is a former executive-level employee of MDT. Her Complaint alleged that she witnessed MDT misconduct first-hand — through meetings she attended, emails she received, through her access to relevant documents, and through her day-to-day work at MDT. As a result, Ms. Mazza’s Complaint described MDT’s misconduct in detail, and described it through the eyes of a very knowledgeable insider.

According to that Complaint, from at least January 2004 through December 2010, MDT received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants, including stimulus funds, to maintain its transportation system. The Complaint further alleged that MDT fraudulently drew down and misapplied grant funds received from the Federal Transit Administration (“FTA”) to fund contracts for goods and services that were ineligible for FTA funding, and then repeatedly and falsely certified to the United States that MDT was in compliance with all federal laws and regulations relating to those grant funds.

Also according to the Complaint, when Ms. Mazza discovered MDT’s fraudulent scheme, she first blew the whistle internally, hoping that MDT management would fix the problems. Instead, she was marginalized and came to believe that the only action MDT was going to take was to cover up the fraud. She then blew the whistle by contacting the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General and the FBI, and, ultimately, by commencing her qui tam/retaliation lawsuit.

As further recited in the Complaint, MDT and its management responded to Ms. Mazza’s efforts to stop the alleged grant fraud by attacking her personally in the press and internally — and by improperly terminating her employment. Those actions tarnished an exemplary career in public service, and led to the above-referenced retaliation action and the settlement payment thereon.

Robert W. Sadowski, Andrea Fischer, Raphael Katz and Audrey Schechter of Sadowski Fischer PLLC, Jim McCarthy, Arley D. (“Trip”) Finley III and Ben Garry from Diamond McCarthy, and Michael and Adam Josephs of The Josephs Law Firm represented the whistleblower. All concur in the view that “Ms. Mazza acted courageously, and her settlement is a tribute to those, like Marjan Mazza, who will not tolerate the misuse of taxpayer dollars.” For Ms. Mazza’s part, she is satisfied that she is now being compensated for the damage she suffered – solely because she did her job conscientiously.

###

ABOUT SADOWSKI FISCHER PLLC:
Sadowski Fischer is a boutique law firm focusing on the prosecution of complex litigation involving financial fraud, and qui tam (whistleblowing) throughout the United States.

Contact:
Robert W. Sadowski
(212) 913-9678
rsadowski(at)sflawgroup(dot)com

ABOUT DIAMOND MCCARTHY LLP:
Diamond McCarthy is a national litigation and bankruptcy boutique which has long experience in sophisticated business and financial litigation within and without the United States.

Contact:
Jim McCarthy
(214) 389-5307
jmccarthy(at)diamondmccarthy(dot)com
ABOUT THE JOSEPHS LAW FIRM:
The Josephs Law Firm is a Miami-based boutique law firm providing counsel in an array of complex litigation matters, including claims arising from breaches of contract, fraud, whistleblower activity and catastrophic personal injuries.

Contact:
Michael Josephs
Adam Josephs
(305) 445-3800
mrj(at)florida-attorneys(dot)com
acj(at)florida-attorneys(dot)com

Nancy Sloan, Diamond McCarthy LLP, http://www.diamondmccarthy.com, +1 (214) 389-5336, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.