Archive

June 15, 2017

Magdiel Garcia and the durable medical equipment company he owned, MAK Healthcare PC (d/b/a Multicare Plus), agreed to pay $225,000 to settle claims they violated the False Claims Act and The Stark Law by improperly self-referring Medicare beneficiaries for services and equipment to MAK. DOJ (EDPA)

June 13, 2017

Egyptian-based construction company Misr Sons Development S.A.E. agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle allegations it submitted false claims in connection with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts. Specifically, the settlement concerns USAID-funded contracts for the construction of water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the Arab Republic of Egypt in the 1990s. DOJ

June 7, 2017

Texas-based medical and physical therapy provider Union Treatment Center agreed to pay $3 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by defrauding the federal workers’ compensation (FECA) program.  The company will also waive claims for payment exceeding $1.6 million and be permanently excluded from participating in federal health care programs.  According to the government, UTC fraudulently billed the FECA program for services it did not render, routinely overcharged for medical examinations, falsely inflated the time patients spent in therapy, billed for unnecessary services and supplies, and paid kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. DOJ (WDTX)

June 2, 2017

Fredericksburg Hospitalist Group, P.C. agreed to pay roughly $4.2 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by upcoding evaluation and management (E&M) codes to the highest code levels in billing Medicare and other federal healthcare payors in connection with their providing hospitalist services to patients at Mary Washington Hospital and Stafford Hospital.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblower will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ (EDVA)

May 31, 2017

Massachusetts-based eClinicalWorks, one of the country's largest vendors of electronic health records software, along with certain of its employees, agreed to pay $155 million to resolve charges the company violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting the capabilities of its software.  The company also allegedly paid kickbacks to certain customers in exchange for promoting its product.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Brendan Delaney, a software technician formerly employed by the New York City Division of Health Care Access and Improvement.  He will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $30 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ

May 31, 2017

New Jersey-based skilled nursing facility Andover Subacute and Rehab Center Services Two Inc. agreed to pay $888,000 to resolve charges it violated the False Claims Act by providing materially substandard or worthless nursing services to patients. DOJ (DNJ)

May 30, 2017

Florida-based managed care service provider Freedom Health Inc. agreed to pay roughly $32 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by engaging in illegal schemes to maximize its Medicare Advantage plan payments from the government.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by former Freedom Health employee and Constantine Cannon client Darren D. Sewell.  He will receive a yet-to-be-determine whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  Whistleblower Insider

May 26, 2017

Kuwaiti-based Agility Public Warehousing Co. KSC agreed to globally resolve criminal, civil, and administrative cases arising from allegations that it overcharged the United States when performing contracts with the Department of Defense to supply food for U.S. troops from 2003 through 2010.  As part of the settlement, Agility agreed to pay $95 million to resolve civil fraud claims, to forgo administrative claims against the United States seeking $249 million in additional payments under its military food contracts, and to plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor offense for theft of government funds.  According to the government, Agility overcharged the DOD for locally available fresh fruits and vegetables that Agility purchased through the Sultan Center Food Products Company, K.S.C. (TSC).  Agility charged the full amount of TSC’s invoices despite agreeing with TSC it would pay 10 percent less than the amount billed.  The government further alleged Agility failed to disclose and pass through rebates and discounts it obtained from U.S.-based suppliers. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed against Agility and TSC under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Kamal Mustafa Al-Sultan, a former vendor of Agility.  Mr. Al-Sultan will receive a whistleblower award of $38.85 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ

May 26, 2017

Abington Memorial Hospital agreed to pay $491,672, to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act through the conduct of employee forging physician signatures on forms submitted to Medicare for home care services. DOJ (EDPA)

May 23, 2017

New York endocrinologist Dr. Michael Esposito agreed to pay $100,000 to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act for billing Medicare despite his exclusion from all federal health care programs. DOJ (NDNY)