Top Ten Whistleblower Awards for 2020

2020 was another strong year for whistleblowers, who once again collectively recovered billions of dollars for the government and hundreds of millions of dollars in whistleblower rewards through their filing of lawsuits under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Whistleblowers this past year also continued to secure financial rewards under the Dodd-Frank SEC Whistleblower and CFTC Whistleblower programs, and under the various state False Claims Act programs....

DOJ Reports Decline in Total Fraud Recoveries in 2020, but Whistleblower Efforts and Rewards Continue

In its annual report of recoveries in fraud and False Claims Act cases, the Department of Justice reported total recoveries of $2.2 billion for the fiscal year ending September 2020.  These recoveries represent the lowest reported DOJ recoveries since 2008. While it is the decline in recoveries that stands out, the 2020 DOJ fraud statistics do share some things in common with prior years.  First, whistleblowers were again critical to...

January 11, 2021

California-based AutoGenomics, Inc. has agreed to pay over $2.5 million to settle allegations of submitting kickback-tainted claims to Medicare.  Between 2013 and 2015, AutoGenomics allegedly paid kickbacks to a healthcare marketing company for each genetic test performed by AutoGenomics’ former laboratory, PersonalizeDxLabs.  The kickbacks were only paid if the claims were reimbursed by Medicare.  Pursuant to the agreement, the company linked up with Prestige Administrative Services, LLC, which owns and...

Top Ten Healthcare Fraud Recoveries of 2020

Consistent with the trend in prior years, the bulk of the Justice Department’s fraud and false claims recoveries in 2019 stemmed from healthcare fraud matters, and with the Biden administration eyeing a bigger role for the federal government in our healthcare system, this trend is likely to accelerate. Most of the funds recovered arose from cases originated by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The...

December 21, 2020

Substance abuse treatment provider A.R.E.B.A.-CASRIEL, Inc. d/b/a Addiction Care Interventions Chemical Dependency Treatment Centers (“ACI”) and its owner, Steven Yohay, agreed to pay a total of $6 million to resolve federal and New York state claims that they defrauded Medicaid including through the payment of kickbacks and other fraudulent conduct in connection with the enrollment of Medicaid beneficiaries into ACI’s inpatient treatment program.  Defendants allegedly employed drivers who were compensated...

December 21, 2020

Government contractor Schneider Electric Buildings Americas Inc. will pay a total of $11 million to resolve criminal and civil claims that it overcharged the government on eight separate energy savings performance contracts under which the company was to install energy upgrades including solar panels, LED lighting, and insulation, in federal buildings.  The company admitted to wrongdoing including the disguising of unauthorized design costs by charging them to unrelated contract components...

December 17, 2020

Pharmaceutical company Biogen Inc. agreed to pay $22 million, and specialty pharmacy Advanced Care Scripts agreed to pay $1.4 million, to resolve claims that they conspired to use two foundations, the Chronic Disease Fund and The Assistance Fund, as conduits to pay Medicare co-payments for patients taking Biogen’s MS drugs, Avonex and Tysabri, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.  The government alleged that Biogen coordinated with ACS to time its...

December 16, 2020

Texas resident Rodney Mesquias, the former owner and officer of hospice services provider Merida Group, was sentenced to 20 years in prison following his conviction on fraud charges.  According to the evidence at trial, Mesquias falsely told thousands of individuals and their families that they had less than six months to live, so that he could enroll them in hospice programs, denying them from accessing curative care.  Mesquias also paid...

Catch of the Week: Vitol to Pay $163 Million to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges Related to Oil Bidding in Brazil, Mexico, and Ecuador

This week’s Catch of the Week highlights the participation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the settlement of an international bribery and kickback scandal involving Vitol Inc., a member of the Vitol Group, the world’s largest privately owned oil and gas trading firm.  As part of the settlement, Vitol will pay $90 million in fines to the DOJ, $45 million to Brazilian authorities, and at least $28 million...

December 10, 2020

Teresita Lumanas Alquero, the former owner of Providence Home Health and Providence Hospice, agreed to pay $1.05 million to resolve False Claims Act claims first made in an action brought by a whistleblower that she paid improper kickbacks to the medical director of Providence.  The payments exceeded fair market value and were intended to induce the doctor to refer Medicare patients to Providence.  USAO SDTX