Author Archives: Site Administrator
Government Decides to Join Qui Tam Action Against Florida Hospice Provider
The Department of Justice has joined in a whistleblower lawsuit against Hospice of the Comforter (“Hospice”) based in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Hospice serves terminally ill patients in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties. The whistleblower, Douglas Stone, is the former vice president of finance for Hospice. According to Stone’s qui tam complaint filed last year,… Read More »
U.S. Intervenes in False Claims Act Case Naming For-Profit Career Schools
The Department of Justice announced that it has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Texas-based ATI Enterprises, Inc. (“ATI”) for allegedly abusing the federal student aid program in violation of the False Claims Act. ATI operates sixteen for-profit career schools in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico under the names ATI Technical Training Center,… Read More »
US Joins Whistleblower Suit Against The Gallup Organization
According to the Department of Justice, the federal government has decided to partially intervene in a lawsuit against The Gallup Organization initially brought by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Gallup, based in Washington, D.C. is the country’s most well-known polling firm. The whistleblower, Michael Lindley, was Gallup’s… Read More »
U.S. Court of Appeals Allows Underbidding Qui Tam Complaint to Continue
A whistleblower has been given the green light by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to pursue a False Claims Act case against Lockheed Martin Corp. (“Lockheed”). The whistleblower alleged that Loral Systems Co., acquired by Lockheed, knowingly underbid on a federal contract in order to win the contract. The… Read More »
Several Adventist Health Hospitals in Central Florida Named in Whistleblower Suit
Adventist Health, based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, has been named in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblowers allege that several Adventist hospitals engaged in rampant overbilling of federal healthcare programs for more than a decade. The specific hospitals identified in the suit are Florida Hospital… Read More »
U.S. Joins Whistleblower Lawsuit Against California Community Clinic
The Department of Justice announced that the United States has partially intervened in a qui tam action pending in the Northern District of California. The lawsuit brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims act is captioned Trinh v North East Medical Services, Inc. North East Medical Services, Inc. (“NEMS”) is a… Read More »
Union Welfare Fund Agrees to Settle False Claims Act Lawsuit For $4.8 Million
The United States Attorney announced a settlement with the District Council 1707, Local 95 Head Start Employees Welfare Fund (“Fund”) regarding allegations that the Fund violated the False Claims Act by overcharging the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (“ACS”), a Head Start grantee, for hospital insurance premiums that the Fund paid. The… Read More »
Government Report Reveals that Some Medicare Fraud Contractors and Medicare Providers are Bedfellows
The inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report that details the findings of a study into the bids of about 100 Medicare fraud contractors and subcontractors during a nearly 18-month period. The report reveals that two-thirds of the contractors had financial ties to Medicare claims processors, and… Read More »
Whistle-Blower Amendments Apply Retroactively
In the case of Leshinksy v. Telvent, U.S. District Judge, J. Paul Oetken, recently ruled that the whistle-blower amendments to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, contained in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, apply retroactively. Those amendments extend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s whistle-blower provisions to subsidiaries of public companies. Employees of subsidiaries… Read More »
Davita Agrees to Settle Whistleblower Lawsuit For $55 Million
Despite denying any wrongdoing, Denver-based Davita Inc., a kidney dialysis chain, has settled a Texas lawsuit related to its use of Epogen, an anemic drug made by Amgen. The settlement requires Davita to pay $55 million. The federal government will receive more than 70% of the settlement amount. In addition, Davita is also required… Read More »