Archive

December 8, 2014

Supreme Foodservice pleaded guilty and paid $288 million for overcharging the government on a contract to provide food and water to the U.S. troops in Afghanistan. In addition, Supreme Group B.V. and several of its subsidiaries agreed to pay an additional $146 million to resolve a related civil lawsuit alleging false billings to the Department of Defense for fuel and transporting cargo to American soldiers in Afghanistan. Michael Epp, former Director, Commercial Division and Supply Chain for Supreme Group, will receive a whistleblower award of $16.2 million. DOJ

Tagged in: Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

October 22, 2014

DaVita Healthcare Partners, Inc., one of the leading providers of dialysis services in the United States, agreed to pay $400 million to resolve claims it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks for patient referrals to its dialysis clinics through its use of a sophisticated three-part joint venture business model to induce patient referrals to its clinics.. David Barbetta, former Senior Financial Analyst for DaVita, will receive an undisclosed whistleblower award. DOJ

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

October 10, 2014

Boeing entered in to a settlement that resolved allegations the aircraft maker improperly charged for labor costs under contracts with the U.S. Air Force for the maintenance and repair of C-17 Globemaster aircraft, one of the military’s major systems for transporting troops and cargo throughout the world. Specifically, the government charged Boeing with intentionally billing the Air Force for a variety of labor costs in violation of applicable contract requirements, including for time its mechanics spent at meetings not directly related to the contracts. Boeing agreed to pay $23 million to resolve the matter. The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by present and former Boeing employees Clinton Craddock, Fred Van Shoubrouek, Anthony Rico and Fernando de la Garza. They will receive a combined whistleblower award of $3.9 million. DOJ

Tagged in: Defense Contract Fraud, Falsifying Invoices, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

September 26, 2014

Pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company Caremark LLC agreed to pay $6 million to settle charges of failing to reimburse Medicaid for prescription drug costs that should have been paid for by Caremark-administered private health plans. Caremark is operated by CVS Caremark Corporation, one of the largest PBMs and retail pharmacies in the country. Donald Well, former employee of Caremark, will receive a whistleblower award of $1 million from the $6 million False Claims Act settlement. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Medicaid, Medicare, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

September 24, 2014

Shire Pharmaceuticals LLC agreed to pay $56.5 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act through improper marketing and promotion of several drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and ulcerative colitis Several former employees will receive a whistleblower award in an undisclosed amount. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Off-Label and Unapproved Use, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

July 28, 2014

Vascular Solutions Inc (VSI), a Minneapolis-based medical device maker, agreed to pay $520,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by marketing a product for sealing veins without FDA approval. Specifically, the government charged that VSI marketed and sold its "Vari-Lase Short Kit" for treating perforator veins (which run deep in the leg muscle) even though the FDA approved the device only for treating surface (or superficial) veins. DeSalle Bui, a former sales representative of VSI, will receive a whistleblower award in an undisclosed amount. DOJ

Tagged in: Drug and DME Pricing, FCA Federal, FDA Fraud, Medical Devices and DME, Off-Label and Unapproved Use, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

June 25, 2014

Ohio-based Omnicare Inc., the country’s largest provider of pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services to nursing homes, agreed to pay $124 million to settle government charges of offering improper financial incentives to skilled nursing facilities in return for their continued selection of Omnicare to supply drugs to their elderly Medicare and Medicaid patients. Donald Gale, former employee of Omnicare Inc., will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $17M from the settlement. DOJ

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Pharma Fraud, SNF, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

May 28, 2014

Medical device manufacturer Medtronic Inc. agreed to pay $9.9M to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that the company used various types of illegal kickbacks to induce physicians to use pacemakers and defibrillators made and sold by Medtronic. Among the the illegal inducements the government charged Medtronic with using were: 1) paying implanting physicians to speak at events intended to increase the flow of referral business; 2) developing marketing/business development plans for physicians at no cost; and 3) providing tickets to sporting events. The settlement stems from a whistleblower complaint filed by former Medtronic employee Adolfo Schroeder under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. He will receive a whistleblower reward of approximately $1.73M. DOJ

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Medical Devices and DME, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

April 23, 2014

Amedisys home health companies agreed to pay $150M resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by allegedly billing Medicare for nursing and therapy services not medically necessary or provided to patients who were not homebound, and by otherwise misrepresenting patients’ conditions to increase its Medicare payments. The allegations were first raised in several qui tam lawsuit filed by former Amedisys employees under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Home Health and Hospice, Lack of Medical Necessity, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

April 16, 2014

CRC Health Corp., a nationwide provider of substance abuse and mental health treatment services, agreed to pay $9.25 million to settle allegations that CRC violated the False Claims Act by providing substandard treatment in its Tennessee facility to adult and adolescent Medicaid patients suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. The allegations were first raised in a qui tam lawsuit filed by Angie Cederoth, a former billing clerk in the CRC facility, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. She will receive a whistleblower award of$1.5 million. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

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