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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.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
July 29, 2016

				 A judgment for $4,752,101.50 was entered against LXE Counseling, LLC and its owner Lexie Darlene George (a/k/a Lexie Darlene Batchelor) for violations of the False Claims Act, the Oklahoma Medicaid False Claims Act and the Oklahoma Medicaid Program Integrity Act.  Specifically, LXE and Batchelor were found to have submitted claims to Oklahoma Medicaid for services that were, among other things: provided by unqualified persons; based on falsified time and service records; double billed; unauthorized or not provided.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblower will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ (WDOK)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  FCA State, 
													  Improper Medical Personnel, 
													  Medicaid, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 29, 2016

				 Syed Imran Ahmed, a New York surgeon who practiced at hospitals in Brooklyn and Long Island, was convicted of submitting millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to Medicare.  According to the evidence, Ahmed submitted more than $25 million in false claims to Medicare for incision-and-drainage and wound debridement surgeries he did not perform.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Provider Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 29, 2016

				 Honeywell International Inc. and Georgia Power Company have agreed to pay an estimated $28.6 million to clean up the 760-acre saltwater marsh at the LCP Chemicals Superfund Site in Brunswick, Georgia.  Between 1919 and 1994, the LCP Chemicals site hosted a petroleum refinery, an electric power generation facility and various manufacturing operations which led to widespread contamination of the site’s soil, groundwater, surface water and sediment with mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other hazardous substances.  The site was placed on the federal Superfund list in 1996.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 28, 2016

				 South Carolina hospital Lexington County Health Services District Inc. (d/b/a Lexington Medical Center) agreed to pay $17 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act and the Physician Self-Referral Law (known as the Stark Law) by maintaining improper financial arrangements with 28 physicians.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by former Lexington Medical Center physician Dr. David Hammett.  He will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $4.5 million from the proceeds of the government’s recovery.  Whistleblower Insider				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 27, 2016

				 Deremedx Dermatology, P.C. (d/b/a Dermatique) and its owner Dr. Barry A. Solomon agreed to pay roughly $300,000 to resolve charges they violated the False Claims Act repeatedly billing Medicare and Medicaid for services performed as if Solomon were supervising the procedures even though he was not in the office and was in some cases out of the country.  Solomon also billed for so-called “impossible days” in which he submitted claims for more hours than he could have possibly worked.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Diane Vitale under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  She will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ (EDNY)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Improper Medical Personnel, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 27, 2016

				 The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, together with the University of Pittsburgh Physicians, UPMC Community Medicine, Inc., and Tri-State Neurosurgical Associates-UPMC, Inc., agreed to pay roughly $2.5 million to settle charges they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare.  Specifically, the government alleged that certain neurosurgeons employed by UPMC submitted claims for assisting with or supervising surgical procedures performed by other surgeons, residents, fellows, or physician assistants, when those neurosurgeons did not participate in the relevant surgeries to the degree required.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblowers will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ (WDPA)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Improper Medical Personnel, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 27, 2016

				 Connecticut psychiatrist Dr. Anton Fry and his company CPC Associates agreed to pay $36,704 to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by submitting improper claims to Medicare for psychiatric services that were provided over the phone instead of by meeting with the beneficiaries in the office and treating them in person.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Jodi Cohen, a former patient of Dr. Fry, and Medical Bill Consultants, LLC, a billing company.  They will receive a whistleblower award of $6,239 from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ (DCT)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Improper Medical Facility, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Multiple Whistleblowers and First-to-File, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Eligibility, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 27, 2016

				 Cement manufacturer Cemex Inc. will invest approximately $10 million to cut emissions of harmful air pollution at five of its cement manufacturing plants in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.  It will also pay a $1.69 million civil penalty, conduct energy audits at the five plants, and spend $150,000 on energy efficiency projects to mitigate the effects of past excess emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from its facilities.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 26, 2016

				 Massachusetts-based State Street Bank and Trust Company agreed to pay a total of at least $382.4 million -- including $155 million to the DOJ, $167.4 million in disgorgement and penalties to the SEC, and at least $60 million to ERISA plan clients in an agreement with the Department of Labor -- to settle allegations that it deceived its custody clients when providing them with indirect foreign currency exchange (FX) services.  According to the government, State Street admitted that contrary to its representations to certain custody clients, it did not price FX transactions at prevailing interbank market rates and instead executed FX transactions by applying a predetermined, uniform mark-up (if the custody client was a FX purchaser) or mark-down (if the custody client was an FX seller) to the prevailing interbank rate for FX.  State Street is also alleged to have falsely informed custody clients that it provided “best execution” on FX transactions, that it guaranteed the most competitive rates available on FX transactions and that it priced FX transactions based on a variety of factors when, in fact, prices were largely driven by hidden mark-ups designed to maximize State Street’s profits.  The allegations originated from famed Bernie Madoff whistleblower Harry Markopolos under the whistleblower provisions of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA).  State Street will pay an additional $147.6 to resolve private class action lawsuits filed by the bank’s customers alleging similar misconduct.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FIRREA, 
													  Foreign Exchange, 
													  Misrepresentations, 
													  Securities Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
July 25, 2016

				 Chile-based commercial airline LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (TAM) agreed to pay a $12.75 million criminal penalty in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to Argentine union officials via a false consulting contract with a third-party intermediary in violation of the accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  According to the company's admissions, executives at LATAM’s predecessor-in-interest, LAN Airlines S.A. (LAN), executed a fictitious $1.15 million consulting agreement with an advisor to the Secretary of Argentina’s Ministry of Transportation.  Although the agreement purportedly required the consultant to undertake a study of Argentine airline routes, the consultant never provided any such services and instead funneled the monies to Argentine labor union officials in exchange for the union agreeing to accept lower wages and not enforce what would have been a costly labor rule.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCPA, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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