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Catch of the Week — DOJ Settles with Two Additional Defendants in Ongoing Bid Rigging Investigation

Posted 03/22/19

Our Catch of the Week celebrates DOJ’s $127 million settlements with two additional South Korea-based companies entangled in a bid-rigging conspiracy to stifle competition and thus artificially inflate prices charged to the U.S. Government on contracts to supply fuel for U.S. military bases in South Korea. The two oil companies, Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd and S-Oil Corporation, will pay $75 million in criminal fines...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, CC Lawyers, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Rewards,

Data Whistleblower Case Raises Question of What is a Public Disclosure

Posted 02/21/19

Rows of chairs with people waiting in hospital billing office

As regular readers know, we have been closely tracking the progress of data analysis firm Integra Med Analytics’ whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act against Providence Health and its consultant J.A. Thomas and Associates, Inc. (JATA). The case alleges a conspiracy between Providence and JATA to upcode for specific Major Complications or Comorbidities (MCCs). This case is part of a growing number of...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Hospital Fraud, Public Disclosure and Public Information, Upcoding, Whistleblower Case,

WATCH THIS SPACE: DOJ and DOE Call Out Lockheed Martin for Self-Dealing at Hanford Plutonium Site

Posted 02/15/19

Worker in HazMat suit standing in front of pile of barrels in rain

The nation’s largest toxic cleanup site has suffered another setback, this time not in the cleanup itself but in alleged self-dealing, corruption, kickbacks, and lies, costing taxpayers over $60M, according to a complaint filed by DOJ against Mission Support Alliance, Lockheed Martin Services (and a subsidiary), and Jorge Francisco Armijo. The Hanford Nuclear Site in central Washington state made plutonium for...

Tagged in: Environmental Fraud, FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Government Procurement Fraud,

Constantine Cannon Partner Mary Inman Comments on Importance of Anonymity for Whistleblowers to Government Accountability Project

Posted 02/15/19

London partner Mary Inman was recently quoted in DC-based Government Accountability Project (GAP)’s blog post about effective whistleblower protection in emerging international laws. Among other priorities, the long-standing Government Accountability Project brings attention to important whistleblower issues, corporate and financial accountability, and international whistleblower rights – issues that are...

Tagged in: Anonymity, CC Lawyers, FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers,

Catch of the Week – Justice Department Sues Tennessee Pharmacies and Pharmacists Illegally Dispensing Opioids

Posted 02/11/19

Stethoscope with computer tablet saying "Opiod epidemic"

On Friday, the Justice Department announced that it has sued several pharmacies and pharmacists in Tennessee to stop them from illegally dispensing opioids. According to the complaint, both defendants have “fueled and profited from” the opioid epidemic by “repeatedly dispensing opioids and other controlled substances prone to abuse without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Pharma Fraud,

Catch of the Week – EHR Developer Greenway Health to Pay $57.25 Million to Settle FCA Allegations

Posted 02/8/19

Person in scrubs holding computer tablet projecting medical data

Electronic health records (EHR) software developer Greenway Health LLC agreed to pay $57.25 million to resolve allegations that it committed fraud by misrepresenting to its users the capabilities of its EHR product “Prime Suite” and by providing unlawful remuneration to users to induce them to recommend Prime Suite. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the government made incentive payments...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, Contract Non-Compliance, Electronic Health Records, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud,

Catch of the Week – Inform Diagnostics

Posted 02/1/19

Technician in laboratory safety wear using eyedropper to fill vials of blood

Texas-based pathology laboratory company Inform Diagnostics, formerly known as Miraca Life Sciences Inc., agreed on January 30th to a $63.5 million settlement to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”), the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”), and the Stark Law by providing subsidies to referring physicians for electronic health record (“EHR”) technology as well as free or discounted...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, Electronic Health Records, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Laboratory and IDTF, Multiple Whistleblowers and First-to-File, Whistleblower Case,

New Yorker Article on Whistleblowers Features Constantine Cannon

Posted 01/28/19

Silver whistle hanging on cord in front of chalkboard

In an article titled “The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing” published in the February 4, 2019, New Yorker magazine, Sheelah Kolhatkar describes the cases of two Constantine Cannon whistleblower clients, and features whistleblower attorney Mary Inman. Focusing on False Claims Act cases involving fraud in the Medicare Advantage program, the article details how the FCA “effectively turned average citizens into a...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, FCA Federal, Importance of Whistleblowers, Managed Care, Risk Adjustment Fraud,

Top Ten Federal False Claims Act Recoveries of 2018

Posted 01/28/19

The federal False Claims Act, under which whistleblowers can bring claims to report fraud and misconduct in government contracts and programs, is the foundation of the Department of Justice's fraud recovery and the U.S. whistleblower reward system. In 2018, the U.S. recovered over $2 billion from defendants who sought to cheat the system. The top FCA settlements for calendar year 2018, based on the amount of the...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Top 10, Whistleblower Rewards,

Catch of the Week – Walgreens Pays Record $273 Million To Settle Three FCA Suits

Posted 01/25/19

Storefront of brick-faced Walgreens location

Three separate qui tam actions brought by whistleblowers against Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Walgreens) have resolved in what amounts to the largest settlement payouts for a retail pharmacy. In the first action, two former Walgreens pharmacists alleged that the company sought reimbursement for insulin pens it dispensed to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who did not need them. Walgreens did so in two ways....

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Drug and DME Pricing, FCA Federal, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Rewards,

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Catch of the Week — DOJ Settles with Two Additional Defendants in Ongoing Bid Rigging Investigation

Data Whistleblower Case Raises Question of What is a Public Disclosure

WATCH THIS SPACE: DOJ and DOE Call Out Lockheed Martin for Self-Dealing at Hanford Plutonium Site

Constantine Cannon Partner Mary Inman Comments on Importance of Anonymity for Whistleblowers to Government Accountability Project

Catch of the Week – Justice Department Sues Tennessee Pharmacies and Pharmacists Illegally Dispensing Opioids

Catch of the Week – EHR Developer Greenway Health to Pay $57.25 Million to Settle FCA Allegations

Catch of the Week – Inform Diagnostics

New Yorker Article on Whistleblowers Features Constantine Cannon

Top Ten Federal False Claims Act Recoveries of 2018

Catch of the Week – Walgreens Pays Record $273 Million To Settle Three FCA Suits

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