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DOJ Enforcement Actions

					
The Department of Justice is the principal federal agency authorized to enforce the laws and defend the interests of the United States. As such, it oversees the enforcement of the False Claims Act, the foundation of the American whistleblower system, as well as numerous other laws.


The agency traces its origins to the Judiciary Act of 1789 which created the Office of the Attorney General, and the 1870 Act to Establish the Department of Justice, which established the agency as “an executive department of the government of the United States” with the Attorney General as its head.


The agency is comprised of numerous divisions with the Civil Division and in some instances, the Criminal Division, overseeing investigations and prosecutions under the False Claims Act. The U.S. Attorneys Office of the federal district where the False Claims Act case is filed also plays a key role in False Claims Act enforcement.


Below are summaries of recent DOJ settlements or successful resolutions under the False Claims Act as well as other successful prosecutions for fraud and misconduct. If you believe you have information about fraud which could give  rise to a claim for a whistleblower reward, please contact us to speak with one of our experienced whistleblower attorneys.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
May 2, 2017

				 Maine dentist Joseph W. Griffin agreed to pay $90,000 to resolve allegations he violated the False Claims Act by submitting submitted false claims to MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid program) for dental services not rendered, were medically unnecessary, or were so inadequately documented in the patient’s medical record as to be unreviewable. DOJ (DME)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medicaid, 
													  SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 1, 2017

				 Texas-based importer Import Merchandising Concepts L.P. agreed to pay $275,000 to resolve allegations it improperly evaded customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from China by misclassifying the furniture as non-bedroom furniture, which is not subject to any antidumping duties. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Customs Fraud, 
													  FCA Federal, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 1, 2017

				 Kansas City area chiropractor Brian Schnitta and his clinic, Natural Way Chiropractic Center, agreed to pay roughly $1 million to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act by charging Medicare for treatments for peripheral neuropathy not medically necessary or not otherwise covered by the program. DOJ (DKS)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Chiropractic, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medicare, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 1, 2017

				 Memphis-based Poplar Healthcare PLLC and Poplar Healthcare Management, LLC agreed to pay $897,640 to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by billing the government directly and through a subsidiary known as GI Pathology for diagnostic tests not medically necessary. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by former Poplar pathologist Gordon Wang. He will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $206,000 from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ (DRI)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Laboratory and IDTF, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 28, 2017

				 New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics Inc. agreed to pay $6 million to resolve charges that Berkeley HeartLab Inc., which Quest acquired in 2011, violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to physicians and patients to induce the use of Berkeley for blood testing services and by charging for medically unnecessary tests. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr. Michael Mayes. He will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Laboratory and IDTF, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 27, 2017

				 Indiana University Health Inc. (IU Health) and HealthNet Inc. agreed to pay a total of $18 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in an illegal kickback scheme related to the referral of HealthNet’s OB/GYN patients to IU Health’s Methodist Hospital. According to the government, IU Health provided HealthNet with an interest-free line of credit, the balance of which consistently exceeded $10 million. The government further charged that HealthNet was not expected to repay a substantial portion of this loan and that this financial arrangement was intended to induce HealthNet to refer its OB/GYN patients to IU Health’s Methodist Hospital. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Hospital Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 27, 2017

				 Forrest S. Kuhn, Jr., M.D., a Kentucky physician specializing in allergy, asthma and immunology, agreed to pay roughly $750,000 to resolve allegations he violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other government health care programs for allergy tests never performed. DOJ (WDKY)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Provider Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 25, 2017

				 Braden Partners, L.P. (d/b/a Pacific Pulmonary Services) agreed to pay $11.4 million to resolve allegations against it and its general partner, Teijin Pharma USA LLC, for violating the False Claims Act by submitting claims for reimbursement to Medicare and other federal healthcare programs for oxygen and related equipment supplied in violation of program rules, and for sleep therapy equipment supplied as part of a cross-referral kickback scheme with sleep clinics. According to the government, Pacific Pulmonary submitted claims to the Medicare, TRICARE and Federal Employee Health Benefits programs for home oxygen and oxygen equipment without obtaining the required physician authorization. The government further charged that certain of the company’s patient care coordinators agreed to make patient referrals to sleep testing clinics in exchange for those clinics’ agreement to refer patients to Pacific Pulmonary for sleep therapy equipment in violation of the Anti-Kickback Act. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Manuel Alcaine, a former sales representative of Pacific Pulmonary. Mr. Alcaine will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $1.8 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Medical Devices and DME, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Other Government Health Programs, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 24, 2017

				 Georgia-based Energy & Process Corporation agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by failing to perform required quality assurance procedures and for supplying defective steel reinforcing bars in connection with a contract to construct a Department of Energy nuclear waste treatment facility. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Deborah Cook, a former employee of the prime contractor that subcontracted with E&P in the course of building the DOE facility. She will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Contract Non-Compliance, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Government Procurement Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
April 24, 2017

				 Crittenton Hospital Medical Center and the Crittenton Cancer Center, together with their current owners Ascension Michigan and Ascension Health agreed to pay roughly $790,000 to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by billing for medically unnecessary laboratory testing for patients who had been referred to Crittenton by Dr. Farid Fata and physicians in his office. In an earlier unrelated criminal matter, Fata pleaded guilty to health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and promotional money laundering, and was sentenced to a term of 45 years in prison. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by an office administrator in Fata’s medical practice, Michigan Hematology-Oncology P.C. The whistleblower will receive a whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ (EDMI) 				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Hospital Fraud, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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