Whistleblower News From The Inside — January 5, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team US sues Volkswagen over emissions scandal -- "The Obama administration stepped up its legal attack against Volkswagen on Monday, filing a lawsuit that accused the German automaker of violating U.S. air-pollution laws with its scheme to install emissions-cheating software in its diesel engines."  Washington Post Catholic Church linked to Uganda child labor -- "A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence that church land in Uganda...

Top-10 DOJ Fraud Recoveries For 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Here is our look-back at the top-10 Department of Justice fraud recoveries for 2015.      10.  NOVARTIS -- The pharmaceutical giant agreed to pay $390 million to resolve charges it violated the False Claims Act by giving kickbacks to specialty pharmacies in return for recommending two of its drugs, Exjade and Myfortic.      9.  BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON -- The bank...

Top-10 DOJ False Claims Act Recoveries For 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Here is our look-back at the top-10 Department of Justice False Claims Act recoveries for 2015.      10.  TUOMEY HEALTHCARE -- The South Carolina-based hospital system agreed to pay $72.4 million to settle charges of billing Medicare for services referred by physicians with whom the hospital had improper financial relationships.      9.  COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS -- The Tennessee-based hospital system and three...

A Big Friday for Whistleblowers

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team In what might be a first of its kind for whistleblowers and the government, this past Friday there were four significant government fraud recoveries all initiated by whistleblowers. In the midst of what is certainly an ever-expanding parade of whistleblower-prompted fraud settlements by the government, this may be the only time four major settlements were announced in a single day.  And it does not...

December 18, 2015

Pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott entered in to a $23.3 million settlement with the California Department of Insurance to resolved allegations contained in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by three former employees alleging drug marketing fraud in violation of state law. The suit alleged that Warner Chilcott executives violated the California Insurance Code False Claims Act, which prohibits anyone from defrauding private insurance companies by using kickbacks or other inducements to procure...

December 17, 2015

Connecticut and other states have joined a global settlement with Novartis Pharmaceuticals to resolve allegations that Novartis provided kickbacks to certain specialty pharmacies in exchange for recommending the drug Exjade to Medicaid and Medicare patients. Novartis has paid the states and the federal government $390 million to resolve these allegations. CT, IL, NY, MI, WA

DOJ Announces Another Banner Year For False Claims Act Recoveries -- Whistleblowers Continue to Lead the Charge

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Yesterday, to much fanfare, the Department of Justice announced it had obtained more than $3.5 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries for its fiscal year 2015.  It is the fourth year in a row the $3.5 billion mark has been crossed, and brings to more than $26 billion the total FCA recoveries the government has obtained since 2009.  And once again, as the...

Whistleblower News From The Inside — December 1, 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Peace Corps whistleblowers claim retaliation for reporting sexual assaults -- "More than 500 volunteers have reported experiencing a sexual assault in a little over two years.  CBS News spoke with nearly a dozen who questioned how their recent cases were handled.  They told us they felt criticized and were threatened they would be fired."  CBS UK whistleblower claims British American Tobacco paid bribes to...

DOJ Catch of the Week -- Operation Spinal Cap

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to the doctors and other healthcare professionals caught up this week in the government's "Operation Spinal Cap" dragnet.  In a series of related cases the DOJ announced yesterday, the former CFO of Long Beach, California-based Pacific Hospital, two orthopedic surgeons and two others have been charged in long-running health care fraud schemes that illegally...

In Their Own Words — Jones

-- “Injured workers were treated like livestock by doctors and hospitals who paid or accepted kickbacks and bribes in exchange for referrals.” California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones commenting on the recent round of criminal charges in the Justice Department’s ongoing fight against fraud in the spinal surgery industry, code-named “Operation Spinal Cap.”