Whistleblower Group

High Court to Hear Argument on Whether Injured Patients Can Hold Generic Drug Makers Accountable for Their Defective Drugs

By Jason Enzler Next Tuesday the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument on Mutual Pharmaceutical’s appeal of a $21 million jury award for serious injuries caused by one of its generic drugs.  Much more is at stake than the money, however, with many expecting the Justices to set out a broad rule on whether any patient can sue a generic drug maker for defects in the design of its drug. The underlying...

Tailor to the Stars Settles New York State Tax Fraud Claims for $5.5 Million

By Marlene Koury Mohanbhai "Mohan" Ramchandani, a sharply-dressed, self-marketed tailor to the stars, pled guilty to felony tax fraud charges involving a ten-year scheme to evade paying New York State sales and income taxes.  Mohan underreported his retail earnings and falsified his taxes to comport with his faith in numerology – the belief that numbers have a special significance or symbolism.  Rather than...

Buying Blind – New Study Shows Continued Lack of Transparency in Healthcare Pricing

By Gordon Schnell It has been talked about for years as a way to rein in the runaway costs of healthcare in this country -- making price matter to the consumer.  That is how it is with every other kind of purchase.  Whether it is a car, a house, a college education, a new pair of sneakers, or even a quart of milk, virtually everyone weighs heavily into their purchase decision what it is ultimately going to...

A Hot Year for Health Care Fraud Recoveries

By Marlene Koury The coordinated efforts of the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have resulted in a record breaking $4.2 billion in health care fraud recoveries in fiscal year 2012.  The agencies are required to collaborate under the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Program, which is a joint DOJ/HHS effort to coordinate federal, state and local law enforcement activities to crack down on...

Justice Throwing Its Weight Behind Fraud Case Against Lance Armstrong

By Jason Enzler The Department of Justice announced in a press release late last Friday that it has elected to join a fraud lawsuit filed against the beleaguered former American-darling and cyclist Lance Armstrong.  The lawsuit, brought by another disgraced cyclist, former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, essentially alleges that Armstrong and others ripped-off the government to the tune of $30 million when they...

Blaming the Whistleblower – Court Rejects Novel Defense to False Claims Act Charges

By Gordon Schnell It would seem on its face to be a rather brazen approach to defending a False Claims Act lawsuit.  A healthcare company is charged with defrauding Medicare by billing it for medications the company never provided its patients.  The company not only denies the wrongdoing.  It goes one step further by arguing that, if there were any such misconduct, it was the whistleblower's fault by not...

Electronic Medical Records – Still Waiting for the Big Returns

By Gordon Schnell The Obama administration is spending billions of dollars to push hospitals and doctors to go digital with their medical and billing records.  It is supposed to revolutionize the industry, improving efficiency and patient safety and drastically reducing the cost of healthcare in this country.  Unfortunately, the move to electronic health records (EHRs) has fallen far short of these hoped-for...

Fired For a Job Well Done – Former Global Fund IG Appeals His Termination

By Marlene Koury John Parsons, the Inspector General of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since 2008, was recently fired allegedly for “unsatisfactory performance,” despite receiving industry-wide praise for rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the Global Fund’s programs.  The Global Fund is a $20 billion dollar fund set up to provide assistance to countries that lack the resources to...