Firm Settles $1.025 Million Qui Tam Case
Rabin Kammerer Johnson announces the settlement of a qui tam whistleblower case, United States ex rel. Relator v. Sheetal Kanar Kumar, M.D et al., No. 17-cv-14301-Middlebrooks, filed in the Southern District of Florida.
Our firm filed the case in 2017 on behalf of LaVeda Harper, a former employee who handled billing responsibilities for a gynecological practice in Stuart, Florida. In the lawsuit, Ms. Harper alleged that the Defendant engaged in several illegal practices, including billing the government for testing services that were not performed. Ms. Harper repeatedly complained to her supervisor about the illegal practices, to no avail.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida investigated Ms. Harper allegations, chose to intervene in the suit, and ultimately reached a settlement with the Defendants, Sheetal Kanar Kumar, M.D. and Sheetal Kanar Kumar, M.D., P.A.
Under the terms of the settlement, the Government will receive $1.025 million in damages.
In addition to the civil lawsuit, the criminal division of the United States Attorney’s Office also brought criminal charges against Dr. Sheetal Kanar Kumar for Medicare billing fraud. On February 15, 2019, a jury returned a guilty verdict on numerous counts following a 10-day jury trial.
Each year, taxpayers lose billions of dollars due to Medicare fraud. Rabin Kammerer Johnson is proud to bring cases like this one to help recover funds defrauded from the Medicare program.
