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Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team’s Top-Ten “Staff Picks” of 2019

Posted 01/27/20

From cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, and “big data” to private-equity backed healthcare, private detention facilities, and the essential whistleblower experience – your prolific and relentless CC WB bloggers have chosen some of their favorite 2019 posts (and one from 2018) – don’t miss these insider-favorite gems!

1. Your worst nightmare – private data exposed to the unscrupulous – could be curbed...

Tagged in: Cryptocurrency, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, FCA Federal, FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, Money Laundering, Pharma Fraud, Tax Fraud, Top 10, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Top Ten Healthcare Fraud Recoveries of 2019

Posted 01/24/20

Consistent with the trend in prior years, the bulk of the Justice Department’s fraud and false claims recoveries in 2019 stemmed from healthcare fraud matters. And again, most of the funds recovered arose from cases originated by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Not surprisingly, seven of the top ten spots in our list involved false claims act lawsuits against drug companies...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Electronic Health Records, Healthcare Fraud, Hospital Fraud, Medicaid, Medicare, Pharma Fraud, Provider Fraud, Top 10,

Catch of the Week: Avanir Pharmaceuticals

Posted 09/27/19

Our Catch of the Week goes to Avanir Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of Nuedexta, for allegedly paying kickbacks to physicians and engaging in false and misleading marketing tactics. Avanir allegedly marketed Nuedexta in long-term care facilities and targeted their sales tactics to encourage doctors to prescribe the drug to dementia patients for off-label uses. The pharma company agreed to pay over $108 million in...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Off-Label and Unapproved Use, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Florida Pharma Whistleblower Case Results in FCA Settlement by Private Equity Firm

Posted 09/27/19

pill container spilled over with pills in the form of a dollar sign

Last week, the government announced that compounding pharmacy Diabetic Care Rx LLC, known as Patient Care America (“PCA”), its executives, and the private equity firm managing the pharmacy Riordan, Lewis & Haden Inc., had agreed to pay over $21 million to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by executing a kickback scheme to generate referrals of TRICARE patients. The allegations...

Tagged in: Compounding Pharmacy Fraud, Defendants, FCA Federal, FCA State, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Pharma Fraud,

Question of the Week — Should Drug Companies that Defraud the Government Lose Their Patents?

Posted 09/18/19

Settlements between drug companies and the government are commonplace these days. Just last week the DOJ announced another settlement with a pharmaceutical company, Mallinckrodt, for allegedly paying kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe more of the company’s drug. The company was accused of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, which generally prohibits medical providers from paying or receiving...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Pharma Fraud, Question of the Week,

Catch of the Week – Mallinckrodt Pays for Kickbacks on Acthar; Investigation into Copayment Subsidies Continues

Posted 09/6/19

This week, the Department of Justice announced that pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt ARD LLC had agreed to pay over $15 million to resolve allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to physicians to induce them to prescribe Acthar.

AKS Allegations

Two whistleblower lawsuits brought under the False Claims Act against Mallinckrodt alleged that from 2009 to 2013, the pharma company, then known as Questcor,...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Rewards,

Question of the Week — Is the use of public nuisance law against J&J for its role in the opioid crisis appropriate?

Posted 08/29/19

The landmark $572M opioid verdict in Oklahoma against Johnson & Johnson stemmed from a single claim: “public nuisance” under state law. Other cases against opioid manufacturers, including whistleblower cases, involve claims for fraud, unlawful marketing, improper prescriptions, kickbacks, violating the Controlled Substances Act by failing to report suspicious purchases, and even flooding the black market. But...

Tagged in: Defendants, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Lack of Medical Necessity, Off-Label and Unapproved Use, Pharma Fraud, Question of the Week, Whistleblower Case,

Question of the Week — Should Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) be allowed to deny patients access to essential life-saving drugs prescribed by their doctor?

Posted 08/19/19

As described in a recent article in The Fresno Bee, thousands of patients nation-wide have been denied access to essential life-saving medications by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) under the guise of ensuring that patients receive the most appropriate and cost-effective treatment. PBMs are the quintessential “middlemen” in the healthcare system, standing between patients and their physicians on one side, and...

Tagged in: Pharma Fraud, Question of the Week,

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,

Question of the Week — Is DOJ’s Blockbuster $1.4 Billion Opioid Settlement Just the Tip of the Iceberg?

Posted 07/12/19

Pill container spilled over with pills fallen out.

On July 11, DOJ announced a record-breaking $1.4 billion settlement with Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB Group) over allegations that its former subsidiary Indivior Inc. inflated prescriptions of its opioid-withdrawal drug Suboxone through numerous unestablished representations about the drug’s safety and addictiveness. The settlement resolves RB Group’s potential civil and criminal liability, but Indivior still...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FDA Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs, Pharma Fraud, Provider Fraud,

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Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team’s Top-Ten “Staff Picks” of 2019

Top Ten Healthcare Fraud Recoveries of 2019

Catch of the Week: Avanir Pharmaceuticals

Florida Pharma Whistleblower Case Results in FCA Settlement by Private Equity Firm

Question of the Week — Should Drug Companies that Defraud the Government Lose Their Patents?

Catch of the Week – Mallinckrodt Pays for Kickbacks on Acthar; Investigation into Copayment Subsidies Continues

AKS Allegations

Question of the Week — Is the use of public nuisance law against J&J for its role in the opioid crisis appropriate?

Question of the Week — Should Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) be allowed to deny patients access to essential life-saving drugs prescribed by their doctor?

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

Question of the Week — Is DOJ’s Blockbuster $1.4 Billion Opioid Settlement Just the Tip of the Iceberg?

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