Whistleblower News From The Inside — August 18, 2016
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Defunct beauty school must pay government $11M—Marinello School of Beauty, a now closed for-profit beauty school in California, will pay the Federal Government and six whistleblowers $11M for allegedly forging enrollees’ high school diplomas to manipulate enrollment records to qualify for unwarranted federal aid. Market Watch
Pillow retailer settles NY FCA suit for $1.1M—My Pillow, Inc. settled allegations brought under the New York FCA that the company failed to collect NY state use tax on sales made to NY customers via telephone and online. The whistleblower who initiated the suit will receive $221K. NY Attorney General’s Office
Pennsylvania doctors settle FCA allegations for $690K—Lehigh Valley Pain Management settled allegations it fraudulently billed Medicare and DOL for services which were either not performed or not improperly supervised. Whistleblower Margaret Reynard, who initially brought the case, will receive $124K. USAO Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Florida urologist settles FCA suit for $250K—Dr. Robert Scappa allegedly submitted claims to Medicare and other Federal programs for lab test which were not medically necessary. This settlement comes in addition to a $19.75M settlement with 21st Century Oncology, with which Dr. Scappa was affiliated. The case was brought by a whistleblower who will receive $37K on top of $3.2M received from the previous settlement. USAO Middle District of Florida
DOJ criminally charges Gabonese “fixer” in connect with Och-Ziff capital FCPA investigation— Samuel Mebiame, the son of Gabon’s former prime minister, was charged with bribing African officials for mining rights while a consultant at a joint venture involving Och-Ziff, the largest publicly traded hedge fund in the US. Wall Street Journal
Amtrak police chief under investigation over contract award—Police Chief Polly Hanson was involved in preparing a $1m counter-terrorism contract that Amtrak awarded to ABS consulting in May 2014. Hanson failed to disclose that she was romantically involved and cohabitating with the Director for Homeland Security programs at ABS. Amtrak’s inspector general is now investigating whether not disclosing the relationship violates the FCA. Washington Post