Government Enforcement Actions

April 16, 2015

Georgia doctor Zheng Xiang Wang and the Wang Eye Clinic, P.C. agreed to pay $790,000 to settle allegations they billed Georgia Medicaid for medically unnecessary ophthalmology procedures. GA

April 16, 2015

A former retail insurance agent with Kilgore Insurance Agency, along with the agency’s owners, have been ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution and interest for overcharging clients, mostly small business owners, by padding insurance premiums with hidden “agency fees.” MA

April 15, 2015

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a $10 million settlement of a lawsuit filed against the auditing firm Ernst & Young LLP over its involvement in a financial statement fraud at the now-defunct investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. That money will be distributed as restitution to investors in Lehman securities, along with some $99 million being paid by Ernst & Young to settle a private federal class action that relied in part on facts uncovered by the Attorney General’s investigation. No other law enforcement authority has brought an enforcement action in connection with the 2008 collapse of Lehman and today’s settlement resolves the first lawsuit brought against an auditor of a public company under New York’s securities laws. NY

April 15, 2015

The CFTC ordered Hope Advisors LLC, a Brentwood, Tennessee, Commodity Pool Operator, to pay a $100,000 civil monetary penalty for acting as a CPO without registering with the CFTC, as required, and for providing monthly statements to pool participants that failed to show all the information required by Commission Regulation.  CFTC

April 13, 2015

Hallmark Health Systems agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle allegations it improperly billed the Massachusetts Medicaid Program (MassHealth) for certain inpatient admissions at its hospitals, resulting in overpayments by MassHealth. The settlement alleges that from March 2008 to December 2013, Hallmark used a specific default code that classified MassHealth patients as having received short-stay inpatient services, when an observation or outpatient level of care would have been more appropriate. MA

April 10, 2015

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the $300,000 settlement of an antitrust investigation into Pennsylvania-based Benco Dental Supply Company’s participation in an illegal group boycott in the dental supply market. TX

April 10, 2015

The Federal Trade Commission and Illinois Attorney General’s Office obtained a court order temporarily halting a fake debt collection scam located in Aurora, Illinois, which allegedly used threats and intimidation tactics to coerce consumers to pay payday loan debts they either did not owe, or did not owe to the defendants. Defendants named in the case include: K.I.P., LLC; Charles Dickey, individually and as an owner, member, or managing member of K.I.P., LLC, and also doing business as (d/b/a) Ezell Williams and Associates, Corp.; Ezell Williams, LLC; Excel Receivables, Corp.; Second Chance Financial Credit, Corp.; Second Chance Financial, LLC; Payday Loan Recovery Group, LLC; Payday Loan Recovery Group; Payday Loan Recovery; International Recovery Services, LLC; International Recovery Services; and D&R Recovery. FTC

April 9, 2015

Oscar Lee Benton, the owner of Benton Travel Group, was sentenced to up to 10 days in jail and a $360,000 fine after the Georgia Attorney General’s office took him to court for scamming customers and failing to refund the money he had been ordered to pay back to customers for cancelling travel plans and refusing to provide refunds. GA

April 9, 2015

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a lawsuit against the board of directors of two Brooklyn-based nonprofits, Brooklyn Child & Family Services, Inc. and Project Teen Aid Housing Development Fund Corp., for alleged gross negligence and failed management of the organizations, including pilfering funds, otherwise seeking personal profits and failing to pay employee wages. NY

April 7, 2015

Network Solutions LLC has agreed to settle FTC charges that it misled consumers who bought its web hosting services by promising a full refund if they canceled within 30 days. In reality, the company withheld substantial cancellation fees from most refunds. In an administrative complaint, the FTC alleged that Network Solutions offered web hosting packages with a “30 Day Money Back Guarantee,” but did not adequately disclose that it withheld part of the refund – up to 30 percent – from customers who cancelled within 30 days of buying an annual or multi-year package and registering an included domain name. FTC