DOJ Catch of the Week -- Olympus Corp.

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to Olympus Corp. of America, the country's largest distributor of endoscopes and related equipment.  On Tuesday, the company agreed to pay $623.2 million to resolve criminal charges and civil claims for the company's violations of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute through a scheme to pay kickbacks to doctors and hospitals.  It is...

In Their Own Words — Richmond

-- “Home health agency owners who seek to boost profits by paying kickbacks to physicians in exchange for patient referrals will instead pay for their improper conduct at the settlement table.” Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Click here for more.

Whistleblower News From The Inside — March 3, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Energy pioneer McClendon dies in fiery car crash, a day after indictment alleging bid rigging – Former Chesapeake Energy Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon, a brash risk-taker who helped transform the U.S. energy industry with shale gas, died when his car slammed into an overpass on Wednesday, one day after being charged with breaking federal antitrust laws, police said. Reuters St. Louis chiropractor sent to...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — February 23, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Tenet Healthcare Corp. offers to pay $238M to settle whistleblower charges of illegal kickbacks -- The whistleblower and government allege the Dallas-based hospital chain violated the False Claims Act by engaging in a kickback scheme for maternity referrals with four of its Georgia hospitals.  Modern Healthcare 9th Circuit says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not federal agencies covered under False Claims Act --...

February 18, 2016

National mortgage lender and servicer HSBC has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations that it received commissions and other kickbacks relating to force-placed insurance policies that it procured for struggling Massachusetts homeowners. Force-placed insurance is property insurance that mortgage servicers obtain on behalf of homeowners when they believe homeowners have failed to maintain adequate homeowners insurance. Force-placed insurance often occurs in circumstances where a borrower has fallen behind...

February 17, 2016

The Justice Department announced that an Enterprise, Alabama, resident was sentenced to 48 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for accepting unlawful kickbacks and tax evasion. According to court documents and statements made in open court, Victor Villalobos, 47, worked for a federal prime contractor at Fort Rucker, Alabama. In 2009, Villalobos approached Maxim Silinsky, a Florida-based subcontractor for this company, and solicited illegal...

February 9, 2016

Miami physician Henry Lora, medical director of Miami-area clinic Merfi Corporation, pleaded guilty for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme that caused more than $20 million in losses.  Lora admitted that in exchange for kickbacks and bribes, he and his co-conspirators wrote prescriptions for home health care and other services for Medicare beneficiaries that were not medically necessary or not provided.  Lora and his co-conspirators also falsified patient records...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — February 10, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Is it Time to Reconsider the CFTC Whistleblower Program? -- Taxpayers Against Fraud commentary on how the CFTC whistleblower program is doing.  TAF Monsanto pays $80M penalty for accounting violations -- The St. Louis-based agribusiness agreed to make the payment to settle charges it violated accounting rules and misstated company earnings as it pertained to its flagship product Roundup.  SEC Taming drug prices by...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — February 8, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team HSBC to Pay $470 Million to Settle State and Federal Claims of Mortgage Origination, Servicing, and Foreclosure Abuses -- HSBC will provide relief to consumers and payments to federal and state parties, and agrees to be bound to mortgage servicing standards and subject to independent monitoring of its compliance with the agreement.   DOJ Commodity Futures Trading Commission has spent more on administrative costs of its...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — February 1, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Sonoma County government agencies join statewide case alleging overcharging in wireless bills -- The suit alleges that Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile overcharged at least 42 California public agencies more than $100 million. Constantine Cannon represents the whistleblower who filed the initial complaint under the California False Claims Act. Santa Rosa Press-Democrat Tampa radiology group will pay $8.7 million to settle whistleblower suit alleging billing of unnecessary procedures -- Rose...