# United States ex rel. Ellis v. City of St. Paul *A False Claims Act qui tam matter against the City of Saint Paul, known from a congressional report and a quoted Department of Justice email, with no recoverable public docket.* *United States ex rel. Ellis v. City of St. Paul* is a False Claims Act qui tam matter against the [[City of St. Paul]], Minnesota. It is known from two documents. The first is a Department of Justice internal email dated March 8, 2012, reproduced in Senator Chuck Grassley's correspondence.[^1] The second is a 64-page joint staff report released on April 15, 2013.[^2] No public docket number for the case is recoverable. Its existence rests on the congressional record and the quoted email.[^3] The email states that the government "has agreed to decline to intervene in Ellis," and links that declination to the withdrawal of a certiorari petition in the "Gallagher case."[^1] The 2013 report alleges that the Department agreed to decline intervention in two qui tam cases against Saint Paul in exchange for the City withdrawing *Magner* from the Supreme Court.[^2] A House Oversight Democrats memorandum concluded that "Mr. Perez and other Department officials acted professionally."[^4] The record places that conclusion beside the email's own words. It does not adjudicate between them. The record does not establish several facts about the case. It does not identify the relator beyond the caption. It does not state the claims pleaded in *Ellis*, the court in which the case was filed, or its final disposition.[^3] ## What A qui tam action under the False Claims Act is brought by a private relator on behalf of the United States. The government may then intervene or decline. The record ties *Ellis* to that choice. The March 8, 2012 email reads in part: "Government declined to intervene in Newell, and has agreed to decline to intervene in Ellis," followed by "in exchange for defendants withdrawal [sic] of cert. petition in Gallagher case."[^1] The joint staff report, *Department of Justice's Quid Pro Quo with St. Paul: How Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez Manipulated Justice and Ignored the Rule of Law*, makes four allegations. It alleges that the Department agreed to decline intervention in two False Claims Act qui tam cases against Saint Paul in exchange for the City withdrawing *Magner* from the Supreme Court. It alleges that Assistant Attorney General Perez instructed career attorneys to omit any discussion of *Magner* from the declination memoranda. It reports that career staff described the situation as "weirdness" and "ridiculous." It also states that relator Fredrick Newell was reduced to a "bargaining chip."[^2] These are the report's allegations. The dossier records them as a contested congressional finding, not as a court's holding.[^3] The companion case, *United States ex rel. [[Newell]] v. City of St. Paul*, was filed in May 2009. It alleged that the City obtained approximately $62 million in HUD grants between 2003 and 2009 by falsely certifying compliance with [[Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act]] of 1968.[^5] The record does not state whether *Ellis* rests on the same instrument.[^3] No Department of Justice [[Office of Inspector General]] report on the *Magner*, *Newell* and *Ellis* matter was located. The March 2013 OIG report cited in the same news cycle concerns the Voting Section and does not address this matter. No OIG finding is attributed here.[^3] ## When - **May 2009**: *Newell* is filed against the City.[^5] - **February 2012**: The government declines to intervene in *Newell*. *Magner* is dismissed the same month.[^5] - **March 8, 2012**: A Department of Justice internal email states that the government "has agreed to decline to intervene in Ellis."[^1] - **April 15, 2013**: House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley release the 64-page joint staff report.[^2] - **May 7, 2013**: The joint subcommittee hearing *[[DOJ's Quid Pro Quo with St. Paul]]: A Whistleblower's Perspective* is held in Rayburn 2154 (Serial Nos. 113-23 and 113-6). Witnesses include Newell, Senator Grassley and Senator Isakson.[^6] - **August 28, 2013**: The Eighth Circuit affirms dismissal of *Newell* on "original source" grounds (No. 12-3894).[^5] ## Who The report names the following people in official capacity or as parties: - Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. - Fredrick Newell, the relator in *Newell*. - Mayor [[Christopher Coleman]], whom the report states accepted the arrangement. - Sara Grewing, Saint Paul City Attorney. - [[David Lillehaug]], Saint Paul's outside counsel, who the report states negotiated with Perez.[^2] The minority view came from [[House Oversight]] Democrats. Their memorandum reported a review of more than 3,500 pages and six interviews. It characterized the investigation as part of "a broader political campaign to undermine the legal safeguards against discrimination." An ethics statement by Professor Stephen Gillers was submitted for the minority.[^4] ## How much The record documents three dollar figures, all tied to *Newell* or to the matter as a whole: - As much as $200 million in potential recovery forgone, according to the report and the hearing announcement.[^2] - $86 million, the Department of Justice Civil Fraud Section's own valuation of *Newell*.[^2] - More than $62 million in HUD funds allegedly falsely certified.[^5] No figure is documented for *Ellis* separately.[^3] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record lists the case as pair AI-Ramsey-017 (rank 17, package Ramsey). That entry records that *Ellis* "has no recoverable public docket number." It also records that the case's existence rests on the congressional record and a single quoted internal email.[^7] The entry anchors the case to the March 2025 presidential action *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*. It gives the reason for the pairing as "a case identifiable only through the party that dropped it."[^8] The presidential action does not itself mention *Ellis*. The pairing is the project's, not the document's.[^8] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, internal email reproduced in Senator Chuck Grassley's correspondence (March 8, 2012) — states the declination in *Newell* and the agreed declination in *Ellis* in exchange for withdrawal of the "Gallagher case" cert. petition. No URL for this document is in the pack; text recorded in Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, §V.c (validated), note [20]. [^2]: Joint staff report of House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, *Department of Justice's Quid Pro Quo with St. Paul: How Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez Manipulated Justice and Ignored the Rule of Law* (April 15, 2013) — the report's allegations, the persons it names and its dollar figures. No URL for this report is in the pack; recorded in Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, §V.c (validated), notes [5][6]. [^3]: Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, §V.c (2026-09-02, validated) — records that no public docket number for *Ellis* is recoverable, labels the report's allegations a contested congressional finding, and records the negative finding that no DOJ OIG report on the matter was located. Project dossier; no primary URL in the pack. [^4]: House Oversight Democrats, minority memorandum (date not stated in the pack) — the conclusion that officials "acted professionally," the scope of its review, and the Gillers ethics statement. No URL in the pack; recorded in Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, §V.c (validated), note [23]. [^5]: *United States ex rel. Newell v. City of St. Paul* (filed May 2009; 8th Cir. No. 12-3894, affirmed August 28, 2013) — the filing date, the Section 3 allegation and $62 million figure, the February 2012 declination, and the affirmance on "original source" grounds. No URL in the pack; recorded in Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, §V.c (validated), note [21]. [^6]: House joint subcommittee hearing, *DOJ's Quid Pro Quo with St. Paul: A Whistleblower's Perspective* (May 7, 2013), Serial Nos. 113-23 and 113-6 — the hearing's date, room and witnesses. No URL in the pack; recorded in Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier, §V.c (validated), note [22]. [^7]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, pair AI-Ramsey-017 (rank 17), sourced to Warren E. Burger Apex Dossier §V.c — the project's at-issue listing of the case. Project record; no primary URL. [^8]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (presidential action, March 2025) — the document the at-issue record uses as its anchor; it does not establish any fact about *Ellis*. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/