Whistleblower News From The Inside — August 22, 2016
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Georgia Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Home Foreclosure Auctions – Defendant admitted that he agreed not to bid against other real estate investors in an effort to subvert the competitive process and artificially suppress the prices of properties by agreeing not to outbid one another. Defendant and his co-conspirators then made and received payoffs to each other. Defendant was also charged with defrauding banks that owned the mortgage notes. DOJ
Pasadena Doctor Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Falsely Certifying Patients Were Terminally Ill as Part of Healthcare Fraud Scheme – The false certifications that patients were qualified for hospice care were used to support millions of dollars in false billings to Medicare and Medicaid. The majority of the patients were not, in fact, dying. USAO C.D. Cal.
Former Navy Employee and Defense Contractor Plead Guilty to Kickback Scheme – The Navy employee, who supervised maintenance work and authorized the purchase of supplies and labor, would direct work to the contractor in exchange for the contractor providing a kickback. USAO S.D. Cal.
Pharmacy Owner Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Medicare Audit and Agrees to Pay $2.5 million penalty – The compounding pharmacies submitted claims under Medicare Part D using a billing code for the tablet or capsule form of ingredients used in compounding, when the medications had been made using bulk pharmaceutical powders. USAO N.D. Al.
To Crack Down on Securities Fraud, States Reward Whistle-Blowers – Indiana and Utah have both passed laws enlisting the aid of whistleblowers to enforce their own fraud statutes and protect residents from financial harm. NYTimes
CMS examines inappropriate steering – CMS is seeking public comment on concerns that some health care providers and provider-affiliated organizations may be steering people eligible for, or receiving, Medicare and/or Medicaid benefits into Affordable Care Act-compliant individual market plans, including Health Insurance Marketplace plans, for the purpose of obtaining higher reimbursement rates. CMS