Archive

DOJ Catch of the Week — Beaver Medical Group

Posted 08/9/19

Yesterday, California-based Beaver Medical Group and one of its physicians, Dr. Sherif Khalil, agreed to pay roughly $5 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by reporting invalid diagnoses to Medicare Advantage plans causing those plans to receive inflated payments from Medicare. It is the latest example of what has become a strong government commitment to pursuing fraud in the Medicare...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Cisco Whistleblower Represented by Constantine Cannon Wins First-Ever False Claims Act Settlement for Cybersecurity Fraud

Posted 07/31/19

In the first cybersecurity whistleblower case ever successfully litigated under the False Claims Act, Cisco Systems, Inc. has agreed to an $8.6 million settlement to resolve allegations it knowingly sold vulnerable video surveillance software to federal, state and local government agencies, exposing government systems to the risk of unauthorized access and the manipulation of vital information. This qui tam...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Contract Non-Compliance, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, International Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Catch of the Week — Comprehensive Pain Specialists Targeted for Urine Drug Testing Fraud

Posted 07/26/19

Laboratory sample vial lying on procedure coding form

Our Catch of the Week goes to Comprehensive Pain Specialists (CPS), a now-shuttered pain-management chain that was once one of the largest in the nation, treating as many as 48,000 pain patients a month at about 60 clinics across 11 states. CPS shut down in 2018 with little warning to patients and employees. On Monday, July 22, the United States and the State of Tennessee announced their partial intervention in...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Bundling and Unbundling, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Laboratory and IDTF, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medical Billing Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

Question of the Week — Will Healthcare Settlements Continue to Dominate False Claims Act Recoveries?

Posted 07/24/19

Recent blockbuster settlements continue past trends: healthcare fraud has so far this year dominated FCA recoveries. During the first half of 2019, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) secured over $750 million in settlements from False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases. And just past the mid-year point, total recoveries have nearly doubled due to a $700 million civil settlement ($1.4 billion total) entered on July 11th...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Programs Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Pharma Fraud,

How Businesses Can Use Whistleblower Reward Laws to Stop Unfair Competition

Posted 07/22/19

Runner in track race starting before other racers

Most anyone can be a whistleblower. The role is not limited to the corporate insider or company employee at the meeting, on the conference call or in receipt of the email or text message where the “smoking-gun” evidence of fraud or misconduct is disclosed. Whistleblowers can be any person, or an entity, with non-public information about fraudulent conduct giving rise to a whistleblower claim. Often, businesses...

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Customs Fraud, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Eligibility,

How to Be a Whistleblower

Posted 07/19/19

You know about fraud, waste, abuse, or corruption by an individual or a company. Someone is getting by with cheating -- taking money from the government, taxpayers, or investors, or even harming others, such as patients. You are deeply troubled about it and want the proper authorities to stop it. You are worried whether you will be heard, taken seriously, and protected. You wonder if your information fits within a...

Tagged in: Auto Safety, CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Employment Issues, FCA Federal, FCA State, Importance of Whistleblowers, Private Insurance Whistleblower Reward Programs, Retaliation, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Answers, Whistleblower Protection Laws, Whistleblower Rewards,

ITT Cannon Pays $11M to Settle Whistleblower Claims of Government Contracting Fraud

Posted 07/18/19

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that defense contractor ITT Cannon will pay $11 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by supplying electrical connectors to the military that had not been properly tested. The company sold the untested connectors to the government directly and through distributors and other government contractors. See DOJ Press Release. According to the...

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Case,

Catch of the Week — Merrill Lynch Commodities Inc.

Posted 06/28/19

Merrill Lynch Commodities Inc (“Merrill”), a commodity trading subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, agreed on June 25th to two $25 million settlements with both the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) to resolve allegations it conducted deceptive trading practices in United States commodities markets.

DOJ Criminal Violations

This settlement resolved...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, FCA Federal, Importance of Whistleblowers, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Rewards,

IBM Inks $14.8 Million False Claims Act Settlement

Posted 06/18/19

On Friday, the Department of Justice announced that IBM and its subsidiary Cúram Software had agreed to pay $14.8 million to resolve allegations that they lied to the State of Maryland while bidding on a contract to develop the state’s Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) website and IT platform. DOJ sued IBM under the False Claims Act, which imposes liability on companies and individuals that defraud government...

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, FCA State, Importance of Whistleblowers,

Question of the Week — Should providers who defraud Medicare be excluded from it?

Posted 06/18/19

Fortune Cookie with Message with Message Saying "Not Eligible for Medicare!"

Sometimes, though rarely, when a medical provider settles a False Claims Act case or is found to have violated the FCA at trial, they are excluded from participating in healthcare programs as a condition of resolving the case. Often, this is a limited-time ban that is meant to incentivize providers to follow Medicare’s rules in the future and to deter other providers from committing fraud. Between Medicare,...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Question of the Week, Upcoding,

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DOJ Catch of the Week — Beaver Medical Group

Cisco Whistleblower Represented by Constantine Cannon Wins First-Ever False Claims Act Settlement for Cybersecurity Fraud

Catch of the Week — Comprehensive Pain Specialists Targeted for Urine Drug Testing Fraud

Question of the Week — Will Healthcare Settlements Continue to Dominate False Claims Act Recoveries?

How Businesses Can Use Whistleblower Reward Laws to Stop Unfair Competition

How to Be a Whistleblower

ITT Cannon Pays $11M to Settle Whistleblower Claims of Government Contracting Fraud

Catch of the Week — Merrill Lynch Commodities Inc.

DOJ Criminal Violations

IBM Inks $14.8 Million False Claims Act Settlement

Question of the Week — Should providers who defraud Medicare be excluded from it?

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