Relator's Motion for Telephonic Status Conference (N.D. Fla., Dkt. 38, September 30, 2025)
Summary
A Relator's Motion for Telephonic Status Conference in United States of America ex rel. Andrew Hersh v. Patrick Walsh, et al., Civil Case No. 1:20-cv-231-AW/GRJ, Case 1:20-cv-00231-AW-HTC, Document 38, filed 09/30/25, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The relator asks the court to schedule a telephonic status conference to set a date by which the government will pay the relator's share under the Settlement Agreement and 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d)(1), stating that at least $665,265 is owed and undisputed. The motion states that the United States opposes, citing a fiscal year scheduled outage with no payments processed until after October 14, 2025. It is signed /s/ Adam D. Warden.
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“Relator's Motion for Telephonic Status Conference (N.D. Fla., Dkt. 38, September 30, 2025).”
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Case 1:20-cv-00231-AW-HTC Document 38 Filed 09/30/25 Page 1 of 7
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ex
rel. ANDREW HERSH,
Plaintiff, Civil Case No. 1:20-cv-231-
AW/GRJ
vs.
Judge Allen Winsor
PATRICK WALSH, et al.,
Defendants.
RELATOR’S MOTION FOR TELEPHONIC STATUS CONFERENCE
Plaintiff-Relator Andrew Hersh (“Relator”) respectfully asks this court to
schedule a telephonic status conference to set a date by which the United States
Government will pay the undisputed False Claims Act Relator’s Share award
amount owed to Relator pursuant to the Settlement Agreement between the parties,
attached as Exhibit A, and pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d)(1). Since at least
March 5, 2025, it is undisputed by the Government that it owes at least $665,265
to Relator as his statutorily granted share of the proceeds of this action. The
Government has repeatedly stated that it intends to pay Relator this amount.
However, Relator has waited over seven months, and the Government has yet to
make payment or even state a date by which payment will be sent. Relator asks
that the Court hold a status conference to set a date by which the Government will
transfer the Relator’s Share award.
Case 1:20-cv-00231-AW-HTC Document 38 Filed 09/30/25 Page 2 of 7
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT
Relator initiated the above-captioned False Claims Act qui tam action on
September 14, 2020, against Defendant Patrick Walsh and various Defendant
entities owned by Defendant Walsh, alleging that Defendants knowingly
submitted false claims and false statements to the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA), in connection with various loans made to the Defendants.
On August 30, 2022, concurrent with the Government’s initiation of a
separate criminal action against Defendant Walsh before this same Court, Mr.
Walsh pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money
laundering, and stipulated to an accompanying statement of facts. United States v.
Walsh (N.D. Fla.), No. 1:22-cr-00024-AW-GRJ, ECF No. 17-18. It was Relator’s
whistleblowing that began the investigation of the criminal matter.
On January 31, 2023, this Court imposed a sentence on Mr. Walsh that
included restitution of $7,818,167.00 made payable to the SBA. Id., ECF No. 37.
Almost two years later on December 30, 2024, the parties to the civil FCA
qui tam action, including the United States Government, Relator, and the
Defendants, entered into a Settlement Agreement, attached to this motion as
Exhibit A, resolving the claims raised in Relator’s qui tam complaint. The
Settlement Agreement included a proposed Consent Judgment for the Court, that
the Court accepted and issued. ECF No. 33-34.
The conduct for which Defendant Walsh was criminally convicted was
“substantially the same conduct as the Covered Conduct” of the Settlement
Agreement: namely, false claims and statements made in connection with SBA-
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Case 1:20-cv-00231-AW-HTC Document 38 Filed 09/30/25 Page 3 of 7
backed loans. Settlement Agreement at 2.
The Settlement Agreement provided that “The United States shall pay
nineteen percent of all recoveries under this Settlement Agreement (including
pursuant to the Consent Judgment) to Relator by electronic funds transfer
(“Relator’s Share”)” and that “Walsh’s payment and/or the United States’
collection of criminal restitution of $7,818,167.00 as ordered in United States v.
Walsh (N.D. Fla.), No. 1:22-cr-00024-AW-GRJ, ECF No. 38, including such
payment or collection already completed, shall be credited towards Defendants’
liability under the Consent Judgment.” Settlement Agreement at 3.
On the effective date of the Settlement Agreement, December 30, 2024, the
Government filed a Notice of Intervention intervening in the qui tam action, and
requesting that the Court enter the Consent Judgment, at which point the
Settlement Agreement would release Defendants from liability for the Covered
Conduct. ECF. No. 26. The Court issued an Order directing entry of the Consent
Judgment, and the Judgment was issued on February 18, 2025.
As the Settlement Agreement credits Defendant Walsh’s criminal restitution
towards his liability under the Consent Judgment, Relator became entitled to
nineteen percent of the criminal restitution upon issuance of the Consent
Judgment. This is undisputed.
On March 5, 2025, counsel for the United States informed counsel for
Relator that, as of March 5, Defendant Walsh had paid $3,501,399.98 in restitution
to the SBA. Almost all of this money was paid long before the Settlement
Agreement was signed. It is also not disputed that the Government therefore owes
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Case 1:20-cv-00231-AW-HTC Document 38 Filed 09/30/25 Page 4 of 7
nineteen percent of this amount, or approximately $665,265, to Relator.
Unfortunately, it has now been over seven months since this Court entered
its Order which operated to grant the Relator’s Share pursuant to the Settlement
Agreement. In that time, the Government has been unable or unwilling to
definitively state a date by which it will transfer the Relator’s Share to Relator.
On September 23, 2025, counsel for the United States informed counsel for
Relator that the Relator’s Share amount had—finally—been transferred from SBA
to the Department of Justice, and that the Relator’s Share would be transferred
from the Department of Justice to Relator at an indefinite date.
Then, Counsel for the United States forwarded a notification from the
Department of Justice stating that the Department’s Unified Financial
Management System (UFMS) is “experiencing a scheduled outage until October
14, 2025; therefore, disbursements are being held until after this date. Once UFMS
has resumed all activities, the payment should go through the disbursement
process.” Counsel further relayed that the weeks-long “outage” is a standard
occurrence at the end of the fiscal year.
This unanticipated outage notwithstanding, Relator has no assurance or
confidence that there will not be another unreasonable delay of additional weeks
or months as a result of an indeterminate “disbursement process.” Relator
understands that, because he is being paid a share of criminal restitution instead of
a civil recovery, there is a different process for sending the payment than the
Department’s typical process for paying a relator’s share. But an eight-month
delay in payment is not reasonable.
4
Case 1:20-cv-00231-AW-HTC Document 38 Filed 09/30/25 Page 5 of 7
As the Relator’s Share is not interest-bearing, the practical effect of the
eight months of delay is to reduce the value of the agreed-to Relator’s Share. No
further reduction is reasonable.
In the five years since he first alerted the Government to the Defendants’
conduct, Relator has suffered devastating financial damage due to the loss of his
career, which was a direct result of his whistleblowing and cooperation with the
Government’s investigation and prosecution of Defendants. This is precisely why
the FCA guarantees a monetary reward to Relator. Relator has repeatedly made the
government aware of his financial difficulties, through counsel.
Finally, Relator by seeking this conference does not intend to impugn the
hard work of the Department of Justice in investigating and resolving this FCA
action, nor its treatment of Relator overall. Relator merely seeks the assistance of
the Court in clarifying when this payment will be made, as otherwise it may fall
through the cracks yet again.
Relator respectfully requests that this Court schedule a telephonic hearing to
set a date by which the Government will pay the Relator’s Share to Relator.
N.D. Fla. Local Rule 7.1 Certification
Pursuant to N.D. Fla. Local Rule 7.1(B), counsel for Relator conferred with
counsel for the United States, Assistant United States Attorney Mary Ann Couch,
who responded as follows: “The United States opposes Relator’s request for a
status conference. The United States has explained that due to a fiscal year
scheduled outage, no payments can be processed until after October 14, 2025. As a
result, the United States cannot confirm a date certain for payment at this time.
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Case 1:20-cv-00231-AW-HTC Document 38 Filed 09/30/25 Page 6 of 7
Further, counsel for the United States may be unavailable for a status conference
due to furlough.”
Certificate of Word Limit
Pursuant to N.D. Fla. Local Rule 7.1(F), the undersigned counsel hereby
certifies that this document contains 1351 words.
Dated: September 30, 2025 By: /s/ Adam D. Warden
Maya Saxena
Joseph E. White, III
Lester Hooker
Adam D. Warden
7777 Glades Road
Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33434
Telephone: (561) 394-3399
Facsimile: (561) 394-3382
msaxena@saxenawhite.com
jwhite@saxenawhite.com
lhooker@saxenawhite.com
awarden@saxenawhite.com
Mark Hanna
Nicolas F. Mendoza
Murphy Anderson PLLC
1401 K Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 223-2620
mhanna@murphypllc.com
nmendoza@murphypllc.com
6
Case 1:20-cv-00231-AW-HTC Document 38 Filed 09/30/25 Page 7 of 7
Certificate of Service
I certify that the foregoing was electronically filed with the Court’s CM/ECF
system, which will then send a notification of such filing to all attorneys of record
registered with the Court’s CM/ECF system.
/s/ Adam D. Warden
Counsel for Relator
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