The False Claims Act enables a private citizen with unique knowledge of fraud committed against the federal government (such as health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud) to file a lawsuit under seal (not accessible to the public) seeking treble (triple the amount) damages on behalf of the government... Read more about the False Claims Act
Evercare Hospice and Palliative Care has agreed to pay $18 million to settle allegations that it submittedor caused the submission of false claims to federal health care program Medicare, for hospice care for patients who were not eligible because they were not terminally ill, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday. Evercare, now known as Optum Palliative and Hospice Care, is a Minnesota-based provider of hospice care in Arizona, Colorado and other states across the United... full text
En Pointe Gov. Inc., En Pointe Technologies Inc., En Pointe Technologies Sales Inc., Dominguez East Holdings LLC and Din Global Corp., all of Gardena, California, have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by falsely certifying that En Pointe Gov. Inc. was a small business in order to obtain contracts set aside for small businesses and underreporting sales under a General Services Administration (GSA) contract to avoid the payment of fees, the U.S. Department of... full text
Florida cardiologist Dr. Asad Qamar and his practice, the Institute of Cardiovascular Excellence (ICE), will pay $2 million, plus release any claim to $5.3 million in suspended Medicare funds, to resolve a lawsuit alleging that they improperly billed Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for medically unnecessary procedures and paid kickbacks to patients by waiving Medicare copayments irrespective of financial hardship, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday. Dr. Qamar also agreed to... full text
Salix Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $54 million to settle allegations that the company violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by using “speaker programs” as kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe Salix drugs and medical devices, which were then reimbursed by federal health care programs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York announced earlier this month.
The federal government alleges that many of SALIX... full text
Genentech Inc. and OSI Pharmaceuticals LLC have agreed to collectively pay $67 to resolve allegations that the pharmaceutical companies knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims in connection with misleading statements about the effectiveness of the drug Tarceva in treating non-small cell lung cancer, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday. Genentech and OSI Pharmaceuticals co-promote Tarceva, which is approved to treat certain patients with non-small cell... full text
The federal government has intervened in a lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Services Inc. and its founder and CEO, Dr. Prem Reddy, alleging that Prime knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare by improperly admitting patients, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.
The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Reddy directed the corporate practice of pressuring Prime’s Emergency Department physicians and hospital administrators to raise inpatient admission rates... full text
The United States has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Guild Mortgage Company, alleging that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the federal government by improperly originating and underwriting mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week. Guild is a mortgage lender headquartered in San Diego, California.
Guild participated in the... full text
M&T Bank Corp. has agreed to pay the United States $64 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the federal government by originating and underwriting mortgage loans that did not meet applicable requirements, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.
During the time period covered by the settlement, M&T Bank participated as a direct endorsement lender (DEL) in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance... full text
Hollister Inc., a manufacturer of disposable health care products, and Byram Healthcare Centers Inc., a supplier of medical products, have to agreed to collectively pay $20.9 million to resolve allegations that the companies violated anti-kickback legislation that resulted in the submission of false claims to California's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month.
The settlement with Hollister resolves allegations that it paid kickbacks to Byram in... full text
California-based Z Gallerie has agreed to pay the federal government $15 million to settle allegations that the upscale furniture retailer knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims when it evaded customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.
The Department of Commerce assesses, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP)... full text
