Whistleblower Group

May 13, 2015

Healthcare technology company Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. agreed to pay $5.9 million to resolve False Claims Act charges of overcharging the Department of Defense for purchases of medical imaging equipment.  DOJ

May 12, 2015

Alexander Lara,  an owner of Miami home health care company Longcare Home Health Corporation was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $13,771,528.94 in restitution and to forfeit $13,771,528.94 for his leading role in a $13 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved paying kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters, Medicare beneficiaries and others in South Florida doctors’ offices and medical clinics.  Lara admitted his company fraudulently billed the Medicare program for expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary or not provided at all.  DOJ

May 12, 2015

Garfield M. Taylor was sentenced to 13 years in prison and ordered to pay over $28.6 million in restitution for operating a Ponzi scheme that resulted in investors losing money they invested with Taylor and companies he controlled.  In a parallel action, the SEC obtained a civil judgment against Taylor for his fraudulent conduct.  DOJ

May 11, 2015

Former CIA officer Jeffrey A. Sterling was sentenced to 42 months in prison for disclosing national defense information and obstructing justice.  Sterling disclosed classified information about a clandestine operational program concerning Iran’s nuclear weapons program to a New York Times reporter in 2003.  Sterling was found guilty by a federal jury on January 26, 2015.  DOJ

May 11, 2015

Tonawanda Coke Corp. agreed to pay $2.75 million in civil penalties, $7.9 million to reduce air pollution and enhance air and water quality and $1.3 million for environmental projects in the area of Tonawanda, New York.  The settlement stems from the company’s violations of the Clean Air Act which resulted in releases of coke oven gas, which contains benzene and other harmful chemicals.  Tonawanda failed to install air pollution controls on its coke ovens, failed to properly monitor equipment for coke oven gas leaks, failed to conduct required annual maintenance inspections of emission controls and proper operations and maintenance and failed to complete multiple required reports among other violations.  DOJ

May 7, 2015

Health Management Associates Inc. (and 14 hospitals it previously owned), along with Community Health Systems and North Texas Medical Center, agreed to collectively pay $15.69 million to settle whistleblower charges they violated the False Claims Act by seeking and receiving Medicare reimbursement for Intensive Outpatient Psychotherapy (IOP) services that were not medically reasonable or necessary.  The IOP services in question were typically performed on the providers’ behalf by Louisiana-based Allegiance Health Management.  The allegations were first raised in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The unidentified whistleblower will receive a whistleblower award of $2,667,300.  Whistleblower Insider

May 7, 2015

Tennessee-based Jackson-Madison County General Hospital agreed to pay $1,328,465 to resolve allegations it improperly billed Medicare and Medicaid for the placement of unnecessary cardiac stents and other unnecessary cardiac procedures including angioplasty, catheterization, and ultrasound imaging.  The allegations were first raised in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Dr. Wood D. Deming under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Mr. Deming will receive an undisclosed portion of the settlement as a whistleblower award.  DOJ

May 1, 2015

Paris-based BNP Paribas S.A. was ordered to forfeit $8,833,600,000 and pay a $140,000,000 fine for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) by processing billions of dollars of transactions through the US financial system on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian and Cuban entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions.  It is the largest financial penalty ever imposed in a criminal case and the first time a financial institution has been convicted and sentenced for violations of US economic sanctions.  DOJ  

May 1, 2015

Accredo Health Group, a unit of Express Scripts Holding Co., agreed to pay $60 million to settle False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute charges that the company participated in a kickback scheme with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. involving the prescription drug Exjade.  According to the government, Novartis provided kickbacks, in the form of patient referrals and related benefits, to Accredo in exchange for Accredo recommending refills to Exjade patients.  The government also intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Novartis for the same alleged scheme.  The government claims defendants allegedly understated the serious and potentially life-threatening side effects of Exjade when promoting the drug’s benefits to patients. FBI

April 30, 2015

South Korean industrial company Kolon Industries Inc. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal trade secrets involving E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.’s Kevlar technology and was sentenced to pay $85 million in criminal fines and $275 million in restitution.  DOJ