Top 10 False Claims Act Recoveries in Healthcare for 2024

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team As we noted in our Top 10 False Claims Act Recoveries post, it was another big year of recoveries under the False Claims Act.  As usual, the majority of recoveries occurred in cases involving healthcare fraud. As the Department of Justice (DOJ) just reported in its annual roundup of False Claims Act successes, of the $2.9 billion the government and whistleblowers recovered this past fiscal...

Top 10 False Claims Act Recoveries for 2024

It was another big year of recoveries under the False Claims Act, the government's primary enforcement tool to combat fraud.  And as usual, whistleblowers paved the way by originating the bulk of the actions that led to these recoveries. As the Department of Justice (DOJ) just reported in its annual roundup of False Claims Act successes, the government and whistleblowers recovered roughly $2.9 billion this past fiscal year (ending September...

DOJ's False Claims Act Roundup for FY 2024 -- Another Banner Year for the Government and Whistleblowers

The Department of Justice (DOJ) just released its False Claims Act results for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024.  By all accounts, it has been another banner year for whistleblowers and the government in their efforts to combat fraud and recover pilfered taxpayer dollars. First, the overarching numbers for the year: The government and whistleblowers recovered roughly $2.9 billion in False Claims Act settlements and judgments. This does not...

DOJ Ends 2024 with a Flood of False Claims Act Successes

While many of us are enjoying the slowdown typically accompanying the holiday season, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been hard at work with a flood of False Claims Act successes to usher in the New Year.  In the last two weeks alone, DOJ has secured roughly a dozen such settlements, returning roughly $165 million to the government's coffers. The False Claims Act is the government’s primary fraud-fighting tool through...

193 Defendants Charged in $2.75 Billion Healthcare Fraud Schemes

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced criminal charges against 193 defendants, including 76 doctors, nurse practitioners, and other licensed medical professionals across 32 federal districts in the United States. These charges relate to various healthcare fraud schemes, resulting in approximately $2.75 billion in intended losses and $1.6 billion in actual losses.   The massive enforcement action proclaimed the 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action was led by the Health Care Fraud Unit of...

Catch of the Week - Endo Health Solutions

This week's Department of Justice (DOJ) Catch of the Week goes to Endo Health Solutions.  Yesterday (February 29), the now-bankrupt pharmaceutical company agreed to pay up to $465 million over 10 years to settle criminal and civil charges relating to its sales and marketing of the opioid drug Opana.  Endo voluntarily withdrew the drug from the market in 2017. This bankruptcy-negotiated payout flows from a criminal fine and forfeiture of...

DOJ Releases False Claims Act Results for 2023

The Department of Justice (DOJ) just released its False Claims Act results for 2023.  By all accounts, it was another big year for the government's primary fraud-fighting tool.  The top-line numbers are roughly $2.7 billion in total recoveries from 543 settlements and judgments, the highest number of settlements and judgments in a single year.  This brings the total tally of False Claims Act recoveries to more than $75 billion since...

February 1, 2024

Marketing firm Publicis Health, which was agency of record for all of Purdue Pharma’s branded opioid drugs as well as for other opioid manufacturers, has agreed to a $350 million national settlement for helping to fuel the prescription opioid crisis.  A government investigation found that the multinational company farmed data from recordings of conversations between patients and providers and used that data to develop Purdue’s sales tactics.  As part of...

February 1, 2024

Hikma Pharmaceauticals has reached a settlement in principle with multiple states for $150 million following allegations that the opioid manufacturer failed to monitor and report suspicious orders.  From the settlement proceeds, $115 million will be paid in cash, while the remaining $35 million will be allocated toward opioid addiction treatment medications.  CA AG; NC AG; VA AG

January 24, 2024

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $149.5 million to Washington State for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic after the Attorney General Bob Ferguson rejected a 2021 settlement and chose to continue litigation.  The company was a top supplier of ingredients used to make opioid drugs, and marketed the drugs for chronic pain conditions that studies showed were not effectively treated by opioids.  This is the fifth national...