Brooklyn, NY – A federal judge has refused to step aside from a long-running whistleblower lawsuit accusing New York City of defrauding federal benefit programs, denying a relator’s attempt to disqualify her and a magistrate judge from hearing the case.

Joel Mahl, a former administrative law judge, filed the False Claims Act suit in 2012, alleging the city improperly sought federal funds from Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The United States declined to intervene in 2021, leaving Mahl to pursue the case on his own.

Mahl, who is an attorney but not permitted to represent himself in a False Claims Act matter, has struggled to obtain substitute counsel after his lawyer died. He has repeatedly sought extensio

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