Author Archives: Site Administrator
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 »
Energy Company Pays Approximately $4 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Act Violations
Connecticut-based Louis Dreyfus Energy Services and the United States have agreed to settle alleged False Claims Act violations. The settlement requires Louis Dreyfus Energy Services to pay the United States $4.08 Million. The alleged False Claims Act violations stem from a natural gas contract between Louis Dreyfus Energy Services and the Department of the… Read More »
NextCare to Pay US $10 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations
Arizona-based NextCare Inc., an owner of urgent care facilities with locations in multiple states, has settled federal and state accusations that it submitted false medical claims to Medicare, TRICARE, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and certain Medicaid programs in violation of the False Claims Act. The settlement requires NextCare to pay $10 million… Read More »
GlaxoSmithKline to Pay $3 Billion to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations
GlaxoSmithKline LLC (“Glaxo”) has agreed to settle criminal and civil charges, including 4 separate whistleblower suits, related to several different prescription medications for a total of $3 billion. According to the Department of Justice, it is the largest payment by a pharmaceutical company to settle a health care fraud case in U.S. history. The… Read More »
Government Contractor Agrees to Settle Whistleblower Suit
The Department of Justice announced that Ward Diesel Filter Systems, Inc. (“Ward”), a manufacturer of diesel engine filtering systems, has agreed to pay $628,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act. The government alleged that New York-based Ward provided inaccurate commercial pricing information for its fire engine filtering systems to the… Read More »
Hospice Companies Settle Whistleblower Suit for $6.1 Million
Hospice Care of Kansas LLC, based in Witchita, Kansas, and its parent company, Voyager HospiceCare, Inc. based in Fort Worth, Texas (collectively “HospiceCare”), have agreed to settle a whistleblower suit for $6.1 million. The qui tam, or whistleblower, action was initially brought in 2006 by Beverly Landis, a former nurse with Hospice Care of… Read More »
Hospital Pays $8.9 Million to Settle Whistleblower Suit
Overlook Hospital (“Overlook”) and its owners and operators, AHS Hospital Corp. and Atlantic Health System, Inc., have jointly agreed to settle a False Claims Act case for $8.9 million. The lawsuit was brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by two former Overlook employees. A qui tam action is a… Read More »