Thomas Clarkson

Practice Areas

Tom Clarkson is a former federal prosecutor who represents businesses and individuals in government investigations, False Claims Act (“FCA”) litigation, complex civil litigation, and white collar criminal defense. Tom leads the firm’s health care fraud and False Claims Act practices.

Since leaving government service, Tom has defended and advised c-suite executives, business owners, marketers, laboratory owners, durable medical equipment company owners, and physicians in Department of Justice investigations involving health care fraud, tax fraud, Small Business Association (“SBA”) fraud, securities fraud, wire/mail fraud, immigration fraud and money laundering.

Before founding Griffin Durham Tanner and Clarkson, Tom led a nationally recognized Department of Justice unit responsible for prosecuting complex civil and criminal fraud out of the Southern District of Georgia. In addition to his supervisory responsibilities, he led some of the office’s most complex and significant criminal cases in the office. During his tenure with the Department of Justice, he tried cases involving public corruption, health care fraud, pill mills, wire/mail fraud, and violent crime — all resulting in guilty verdicts. Tom led investigations resulting in numerous plea agreements involving over $1.5 billion dollars, including prosecutions of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, marketers, and executives. In FY 2019, he led his unit to become the third most productive criminal health care fraud unit in the entire Department of Justice. Tom also prosecuted some of the first COVID-19 fraud cases in the district, including cases involving the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

Tom also maintains a broad civil practice. During his government service, he led and supervised False Claims Act investigations that have resulted in numerous seven- and eight-figure settlements. Tom supervised and led civil Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) investigations that resulted in record-setting settlements and judgments. Tom’s civil CSA experience includes litigating cases from complaint, through the penalty hearing phase, and ultimately to judgment. He has significant experience with the False Claims Act (including qui tam whistleblower actions), Stark Law, and Anti-Kickback Statute.

In private practice, Tom has served as lead counsel defending FCA investigations involving health care fraud, as well as COVID-19 related investigations. He also has experience in Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) parallel criminal and civil investigations and criminal tax investigations involving the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the Tax Division. Tom has also served as lead counsel for businesses, owners, and individuals pursuing contract- and tort-based claims involving millions of dollars in business litigation matters both in Georgia, as well as in other states.

Tom has served as defense counsel in numerous high-dollar matters, including tort suits seeking hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2015, he defended a civil rights case resulting in a complete jury verdict for his clients in less than 30 minutes. Since leaving the DOJ, Tom has defended businesses and executives in civil also represented businesses, owners, directors, and officers in business litigation — defending claims involving breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, civil conspiracy, conversion, and other tort theories.

For his efforts at DOJ, Tom has been recognized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Health and Human Services, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of the Army, and Legal Services Corporation.

After graduating from law school with highest honors, Tom clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and worked for a prestigious firm in Charlotte.

Tom is frequently invited to speak and teach in the areas of health care fraud, parallel proceedings, the False Claims Act, and white collar crime. He has also been invited to teach classes at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Career

Deputy Chief, Department of Justice (2017-2021)

Criminal Health Care Fraud Coordinator, Department of Justice (2017-2021)

Civil Health Care Fraud Coordinator, Department of Justice (2016-2021)

Affirmative Civil Enforcement Coordinator, Department of Justice (2016-2017)

Assistant United States Attorney, Department of Justice (2014-2016)

Professional Memberships

North Carolina Bar

Georgia Bar