DOJ Enforcement

May 3, 2016

Virginia-based Agape Health Management, Inc., which operates under the name Agape Adult Day Healthcare Center, agreed to pay $385,917 to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for transportation services purportedly provided to Virginia Medicaid recipients that were not present or transported to the Agape facility on the claimed dates of service.  DOJ (EDVA)

May 3, 2016

Menlo Worldwide Services and Estes Forwarding Worldwide agreed to collectively pay $13 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by overcharging the government by billing for the cost of moving freight by air when it was actually shipped by ground.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblowers will receive a whistleblower award of $2.86 million from the proceeds of the government’s recovery.  Whistleblower Insider

April 29, 2016

U.S. Navy Captain Select Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz was sentenced to 78 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 (and forfeit $95,000 in illicit proceeds) for bribery charges, admitting that he accepted cash, gifts, travel expenses, entertainment and the services of prostitutes from foreign defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia in exchange for classified U.S. Navy information.  The information included ship schedules that contained information related to the U.S. Navy’s ballistic missile defense operations in the Pacific.  To date, 10 individuals have been charged in connection with this scheme, nine of which have pleaded guilty.  DOJ

April 29, 2016

Hollister Inc., a manufacturer of disposable health care products, and Byram Healthcare Centers Inc., a supplier of medical products, agreed to respectively pay roughly $11.4 million and $9.4 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act through an illegal kickback scheme.  According to the government, Hollister paid kickbacks to Byram in return for marketing promotions, conversion campaigns and other referrals of patients to Hollister’s ostomy and continence care products.  The government claimed that Byram also received kickbacks from three other manufacturers of ostomy and continence care products, namely Coloplast Corp., Montreal Ostomy and Safe N’ Simple.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by two former employees and one current employee of Coloplast under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  They will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ

April 28, 2016

California doctor Gary J. Ordog pleaded guilty to submitting more than $2.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.  Ordog, who purported to be a physician specializing in toxicology, admitted submitting false claims to Medicare for purported visits with Medicare beneficiaries, when in fact those visits never actually occurred, including on dates when Ordog was out of the country.  He also admitted to billing for services provided to beneficiaries who were deceased and for services totaling more than 24 hours in one day.  DOJ

April 27, 2016

The DOJ announced that Hitachi Chemical Co. will plead guilty to conspiring with competitors between 2002 and 2010 to fix prices for electrolytic capacitors sold to customers in the United States and elsewhere.  DOJ

April 27, 2016

Los Angeles-based upscale furniture seller Z Gallerie LLC agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act through a scheme to evade customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from China.  According to the government, Z Gallerie evaded antidumping duties by misclassifying, or conspiring with others to misclassify, the imported furniture as pieces intended for non-bedroom use.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Kelly Wells, an e-commerce retailer of furniture.  She will receive a whistleblower award of $2.4 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ

April 27, 2016

Pharmaceutical giants Wyeth and Pfizer, Inc. agreed to pay $784.6 million to resolve allegations that Wyeth violated the False Claims Act by reporting to the government false prices on two of its proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs, Protonix Oral and Protonix IV.  Under the state Medicaid programs, drug companies must provide Medicaid rebates based on the best prices they offer other customers.  According to the government, Wyeth hid from Medicaid bundled discounts it provided to thousands of hospitals across the country on Protonix Oral and Protonix IV.  By failing to report these bundled discounts, Wyeth allegedly avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Lauren Kieff, a former hospital sales representative for AstraZeneca and William St. John LaCorte, a physician practicing in New Orleans.  They will collectively receive a whistleblower award of roughly $98 million from the proceeds of the federal and state settlements.  Whistleblower Insider

April 27, 2016

Bering Straits Technical Services and its parent company Bering Straits Native Corporation agreed to pay $2 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act through their submission of false claims to the Department of Defense and/or the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for maintenance facility services provided at the Red River Army Depot located near Texarkana.  Specifically, the government charged the companies submitted false preventative maintenance reports for maintenance that was not performed and false repair work orders.  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 (SDNY)

April 22, 2016

OXY USA Inc., a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Company, agreed to spend an estimated $40 million to clean up contaminated water and sediments in the Ocoee River and one of its watersheds at the Copper Basin Mining District Superfund Site in Polk County, Tennessee.  In addition, OXY USA will reimburse EPA approximately $10.8 million toward costs incurred in its past cleanup actions at the site.  The company will also reimburse EPA and the state of Tennessee for costs incurred by those agencies in overseeing the work required by the settlement.  DOJ