State Enforcement

November 10, 2014

Matthew David Harrell, owner of Revive Athletics, Inc., and Andrea Lillie Barrett, owner of Lillie Cares Health Services, LLC, were charged with Medicaid Fraud. According to the government, through the guise of various community after-school programs, Harrell obtained Medicaid numbers from the parents of children insured by Medicaid and shared them with Barrett to use for Lillie Cares Health Services Medicaid billing. GA

November 6, 2014

The Florida Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Consumer Collection Advocates, Corp. and its principal Michael Robert Ettus for allegedly defrauding consumers who were victims of previous frauds or scams. The FTC has filed a parallel lawsuit against CCA. According to the state, the company’s actions violate Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act by misrepresenting defendants’ business status and purported fee recovery services and making false and misleading statements to induce consumers to pay for goods or services. According to the FTC, the company has violated the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule by requesting or receiving upfront payment from consumers for services represented to recover or assist in the return of money paid for by the consumer in a previous telemarketing transaction. FL AG

November 6, 2014

Michigan Attorney General announced the distribution of $747,000 from the State’s Foreclosure Scam Restitution Fund to compensate 36 southeast Michigan victims of mortgage modification fraud from Nationwide Consulting, LLC. The operators of the business, Kenneth Sandoval and Zacharia Ortiz were both previously convicted for their role in the scam. MI AG

November 5, 2014

The Florida Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint against Federal Verification Co, Inc. dba GSA Applications for allegedly misleading small businesses by claiming to be the U.S. General Services Administration or implying a government affiliation to solicit small businesses and guarantee them a GSA contract for an upfront fee ranging typically from $5,000 to $8,000. FL AG

October 31, 2014

Oklahoma-based dental company, Ocean Dental PC, which operates 28 clinics in seven states, agreed to pay more than $5M to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Oklahoma Medicaid program for dental work never performed or billed at a higher rate than allowed. The charges apparently stem from dental restorations by former employee Robin Lockwood who was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in a separate case. NewsOK

October 16, 2014

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott entered into a settlement with generic drug maker Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ranbaxy Laboratories, Inc., Ranbaxy USA, Inc. and Ranbaxy, Inc. to resolve allegations they violated the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act by fraudulently reporting inflated drug prices to the Medicaid program. Under the settlement, Ranbaxy must pay the State of Texas about $18M. TXAG

October 13, 2014

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced a $28.4M settlement with Aaron’s, Inc., the second largest rent-to-own business in the nation, to resolve allegations the company violated California consumer protection and privacy laws by charging improper late fees, overcharging customers who paid off contracts early, and omitting important contract disclosures. The settlement requires Aaron’s to refund $25M to California customers who signed lease agreements between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2014 and to pay $3.4M in civil penalties and fees. Approximately 100,000 California customers will be eligible for restitution. CAAG

October 9, 2014

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a settlement with retail specialty pharmacy Sorkin’s Ltd Rx. (d/b/a CareMed Pharmaceutical Services) resolving allegations it made false statements to the New York State Medicaid Program to secure expeditious prior authorizations for the coverage of specialty drugs, and that it submitted false claims to the New York State Medicaid Program for certain prescription medications that were restocked and resold and for refills that recipients never obtained. Sorkin’s will return $846,224 to Medicaid. NYAG

October 9, 2014

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced an agreement with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. to reimburse more than 31,000 Citi customers who were charged higher advisory fees than they negotiated. The agreement returns nearly $16 million to about 31,000 Citigroup customers. NYAG

October 8, 2014

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that his office, along with the Attorneys General of 49 other states and the District of Columbia, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission, reached a $105M settlement with AT&T Mobility LLC resolving allegations that AT&T Mobility placed on consumers’ mobile telephone bills charges for third-party services that had not been authorized by consumers, a practice known as “cramming.” One common cramming charge is a $9.99-per-month premium text message subscription service (also known as PSMS) for horoscopes, trivia, and sports scores that consumers often never requested. NYAG