DOJ Enforcement

June 17, 2015

Norbulk Shipping UK Ltd, operator of the M/V Murcia Carrier, pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an accurate oil record book in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and providing false statements to the US Coast Guard concerning the vessel’s garbage record book.  The company was sentenced to pay a criminal penalty of $750,000 and placed on three years of probation.  DOJ

June 16, 2015

Florida defense and government contracting company IAP Worldwide Services Inc. agreed to pay a $7.1 million penalty to resolve charges it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by conspiring to bribe Kuwaiti officials in order to secure a government contract there.  DOJ

June 16, 2015

Hebrew Homes Health Network Inc., a Florida-based operator of rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities, along with its former president and executive director William Zubkoff, agreed to pay $17 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by improperly paying doctors for referrals of Medicare patients requiring skilled nursing care.  It is the largest settlement involving alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute by skilled nursing facilities in the US.  The allegations against Hebrew Homes first arose in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Stephen Beaujon, a former CFO of Hebrew Homes, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  He will receive a whistleblower award of $4.25 million.  Whistleblower Insider

June 16, 2015

Jacksonville, Florida-based home health company Advanced Homecare, Inc.agreed to pay $1,293,169 to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by billing the government for millions of dollars of medically unnecessary services.  According to the government, Advanced Homecare accepted and treated patients who were not actually homebound and did not have a valid physician certification of home health need, as required by Medicare.  The allegations first arose in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Advanced Homecare former employee Marsha Yandell under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Ms. Yandell will receive a whistleblower award of more than $200,000.  DOJ

June 15, 2015

Joseph Sigelman, the former co-chief executive officer of BVI oil and gas company PetroTiger Ltd., pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay bribes to a foreign government official in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  At his plea hearing, Sigelman admitted to conspiring with co-CEO Knut Hammarskjold, PetroTiger’s former general counsel Gregory Weisman, and others to make illegal payments of $333,500 to David Duran, an employee of the Colombian national oil company, Ecopetrol.  Sigelman admitted to making the payments in exchange for Duran’s assistance in securing a $45 million oil services contract for PetroTiger. DOJ

June 15, 2015

Children’s Hospital, Children’s National Medical Center Inc. and its affiliated entities agreed to pay $12.9 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false cost reports and other applications to the components and contractors of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as to Virginia and District of Columbia Medicaid programs.  The allegations first arose in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Children’s National Medical Center employee James A. Roark Sr. under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Mr. Roark will receive a whistleblower award of $1,890,649.98.  DOJ

June 9, 2015

Earnest Gibson III, the former president of Riverside General Hospital, Earnest Gibson IV, the operator of Devotions Care Solutions, a Riverside satellite psychiatric facility, and Regina Askew, the owner of Safe and Sound group home, were sentenced to 45 years, 20 years and 12 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in a $158 million Medicare fraud scheme.  They were also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $46,753,180, $7,518,480 and $46,255,893 respectively.  According to the evidence, the defendants had patients sit around the facility watching movies while they received no treatment, ultimately billing Medicare more than $158 million for care that was never provided.  DOJ

June 5, 2015

Atlanta-based dental practice Dennis B. Jaffe D.M.D., P.C. and its principal Dennis Jaffe agreed to pay $324,327.05 to settle charges they violated the False Claims Act by fraudulently billing Medicaid for tooth extraction procedures and for fraudulently billing for services rendered by a dental assistant when Jaffe was not present in the office. According to the government, Jaffe fraudulently sought payment from Medicaid for higher and more expensive levels of service than were actually performed, a practice commonly referred to as “upcoding.”  The allegations first arose in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Michelle Smith under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  DOJ

June 4, 2015

Hospital operator Health Management Associates (HMA) and Georgia-based hospital Clearview Regional Medical Center agreed to pay $595,155 to settle charges they violated the False Claims Act through an illegal kickback scheme.  Clearview was previously named Walton Regional Medical Center and owned by HMA during the time period relevant to the lawsuit.  Clearview is now owned by Community Health Systems which purchased HMA in January 2014.  According to the government, HMA’s Walton Regional Medical Center paid kickbacks to Hispanic Medical Management (d/b/a Clinica de la Mama), in return for Clinica’s agreement to send pregnant women to Walton Regional for deliveries paid for by Medicaid, in violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.  As part of the settlement, HMA and Clearview will pay the State of Georgia an additional $396,770 to settle Georgia’s claims under the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Walton Regional CFO Ralph D. Williams under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  He will receive a whistleblower award of $119,031.  DOJ, GA

June 2, 2015

Millard Refrigerated Services agreed to pay a $3 million penalty to settle charges it violated the Clean Air Act, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for an airborne release of ammonia from Millard’s Theodore, Alabama, facility in 2010 that sickened 152 people responding to the BP oil spill.  DOJ