February 5, 2015
Minnesota-based medical device manufacturer
ev3 Inc. (formerly known as Fox Hollow Technologies Inc.) agreed to pay $1.25M to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by causing certain hospitals to submit false claims to Medicare for unnecessary inpatient admissions related to minimally-invasive atherectomy procedures for removing hardening of the arteries. According to the government, Fox Hollow sold the Silver Hawk Plaque Excision System for these procedures and advised hospitals to bill them as more expensive inpatient procedures, as opposed to less costly outpatient procedures, to artificially increase their Medicare reimbursement claims. The charges originated with a whistleblower lawsuit was filed under the
qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by former Fox Hollow sales representative Amanda Cashi. She will receive a whistleblower award of $250,000.
DOJ