Edward A. Baker, Whistleblower Attorney in New York

Edward Baker represents a broad range of whistleblowers and has extensive experience with healthcare fraud under the federal False Claims Act and equivalent state acts.

Prior to joining Lieff Cabraser, Mr. Baker was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of California, where he was the Civil Healthcare Fraud Coordinator, as well as the Elder Justice Coordinator, within the Affirmative Civil Enforcement practice group.

As an AUSA, Mr. Baker investigated numerous FCA cases, including allegations against physicians for medically unnecessary procedures, pharmacies for kickbacks to nursing homes, defense contractors and federal grant recipients for fraudulent billing, and hospitals for up-coding. He was the lead attorney for the United States in an FCA settlement against a group of Fresno cardiologists for performing medically unnecessary nuclear scans, and in a qui tam settlement against Omnicare, Inc., a national long-term care pharmacy, for improperly submitting claims for prescription drugs dispensed to patients in skilled nursing facilities. He worked closely with criminal prosecutors to enhance the district’s parallel proceedings practice and coordinated regular meetings of the EDCA Healthcare Fraud Task Force.

In September 2023, Ed published an auditing tip in the e-newsletter of the National Alliance of Medical Auditing Specialists (NAMAS) on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in U.S., et al, ex rel. Schutte, et al. v. SuperValu, Inc., et al. In December 2023, he published an additional auditing tip for NAMAS on Cigna’s 2023 $172 million False Claims Act settlement with the DOJ.

Prior to serving as an AUSA, Mr. Baker was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Vermont, where he was the Director of the Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit. In that capacity, he was responsible for all aspects of the management and operation of Vermont’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, charged with investigating and prosecuting, both civilly and criminally, fraud and patient abuse/neglect within Vermont’s Medicaid program. He was a member of the litigation table team for thirty-six states in a qui tam lawsuit against Wyeth and Pfizer for Medicaid pharmaceutical “best price” violations that ultimately resulted in a $785 million settlement. He also laid the groundwork for the enactment of the Vermont False Claims Act and held leadership positions within the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

Prior to his eight years of government service, Mr. Baker was in private practice, first, as a litigator in the Government Enforcement Defense practice group of a large Boston law firm, then at a national plaintiff’s firm where he litigated antitrust and securities class actions.

Mr. Baker has a J.D. cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During law school, he was a Managing Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review, and the founder of a student organization devoted to exploring the intersection of legal theory and practice. He was elected Class Orator at graduation, and was recognized for his outstanding service to the law school, and for scholarship, character, and contribution to the greater community. In addition to his law degree, Mr. Baker has an M.A. in Religion from Yale University, and an M.A. in Philosophy from Tufts University. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Philosophy modified with Biology.

Mr. Baker is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont; as well as in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of New York, Eastern District of California, Eastern District of Wisconsin, District of Massachusetts, and the District of Vermont.