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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.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
November 20, 2015

				 The University of Florida agreed to pay $19.875 million to settle allegations the university improperly charged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for salary and administrative costs on hundreds of federal grants.  According to the government, the university overcharged hundreds of grants for the salary costs of its employees, where it did not have documentation to support the level of effort claimed on the grants for those employees.  The government also contended the university charged for impermissible administrative costs for equipment and supplies and inflated costs charged to the grants.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Grant and Research Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 20, 2015

				 Huey P. Williams Jr., owner of Houston-area based durable medical equipment companies Hermann Medical Supplies Inc. and Hermann Medical Supplies II was sentenced to 63 months in prison and to pay $1.96 million in restitution for his role in a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme.  Specifically, Williams caused Hermann Medical to bill Medicare for components of an “arthritis kit,” which included expensive, rigid braces and orthotics with adjustable joints that required fitting and adjustment, when in reality, Williams purchased and provided to beneficiaries only inexpensive, flimsy neoprene braces and equipment, to the extent he provided any equipment at all.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Medical Devices and DME, 
													  Medicare, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 19, 2015

				 Japanese-based auto parts supplier INOAC Corp. agreed to plead guilty and pay a $2.35 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids on certain plastic interior trim automotive parts installed in cars sold to U.S. consumers.  DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 19, 2015

				 Detroit-area physician Dr. Hicham A. Elhorr was sentenced to 72 months in prison and to pay roughly $2 million in restitution for directing a multi-million dollar Medicare fraud scheme through his medical practice.  According to admissions in his plea agreement, Elhorr employed unlicensed individuals through his visiting physician practice, House Calls Physicians PLLC, who held themselves out as licensed physicians and purported to provide physician home visits and other services to Medicare beneficiaries in Michigan.  The unlicensed individuals prepared medical documentation that Elhorr and other licensed physicians signed as if they had performed the visits when, in fact, no licensed physicians had treated the beneficiaries. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
													  Improper Medical Personnel, 
													  Medicare, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 19, 2015

				 Florida-based hospice company Hospice of Citrus County agreed to pay roughly $3 million to settle charges the company violated the False Claims Act by knowingly billing Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary and undocumented hospice services.  The allegations resolved included liability under the False Claims Act.  Specifically, the government alleged the company treated at least 52 patients with lengths of stay in excess of 1,000 days and either knowingly or recklessly failed to document a valid basis for the initial start of hospice care and/or subsequent hospice coverage.  The failure in documentation included no support for the length of hospice services; patient files that failed to document basic patient characteristics; and patient records that were either unsigned or signed with inconsistent practitioner information.  In some cases, patients were admitted to HOCC simply because their spouse was in hospice care.  DOJ (MDFL)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medicaid, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Medicare, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 18, 2015

				 Joe Ann Murthil, the office manager of New Orleans-based home health company Memorial Home Health Inc., was sentenced to 48 months in prison and to pay roughly $14 million in restitution for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme in which she assisted with the payment of illegal kickbacks to patient recruiters and submitted claims to Medicare falsely stating that patients were homebound and had received services.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
													  Medicare, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 18, 2015

				 Deaconess Home Health, Inc. (formerly known as Outreach Home Health) and its owner, Lazarus Bonilla, agreed to pay $3,724,000 to resolve charges they violated the False Claims Act through the false billing of personal care worker services to the Wisconsin Medicaid Program.  Specifically, the defendants (1) intentionally recruited patients for personal care services without regards to whether the services were medically necessary; (2) instructed nurses employed by Deaconess to routinely inflate, without regard to medical necessity, the assessment of the patient that was provided to the Medicaid program; (3) failed to conduct required supervisory visits to ensure that services were in fact being provided, that services continued to be medically necessary, and that any services provided were appropriate for the needs of the patient; and (4) hired physicians to act as medical directors to sign plans of care for patients on whom they had not completed a physical examination.  The allegations first arose in three whistleblower lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Two of the whistleblowers are former employees of Deaconess.  The whistleblowers collectively will receive a whistleblower award of approximately $600,000.  (DOJ (EDWI)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  FCA State, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medicaid, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 16, 2015

				 Pittsburgh-based for-profit education company Education Management Corp. agreed to pay $95.5 million to resolves allegations it violated the federal False Claims Act and several state False Claims Acts by falsely certifying it was in compliance with Title IV of the Higher Education Act and parallel state statutes.  The government alleged the company violated the statute’s Incentive Compensation Ban by running a high pressure boiler room where admissions personnel were paid based purely on the number of students they enrolled.  The allegations first arose in series of whistleblower lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblowers will collectively receive a whistleblower award of $11.3 million from the proceeds of the government’s recovery.  Whistleblower Insider IN, IL, IA, MT, NJ, NY, NM, VA, WA				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Education Fraud, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  FCA State, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 16, 2015

				 HCA Holdings, Inc. (including affiliated entities Hospital Corporation of America; Parallon Business Solutions, LLC; West Florida Regional Medical Center, Inc.; HCA Health Services of Florida, Inc.; Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point; HCA Health Services of Florida, Inc.; New Port Richey Hospital, Inc.; and Medical Center of Trinity) agreed to pay $2 million to resolve charges of violating the False Claims Act through billing Medicare for unnecessary lab tests and double billing for fetal testing.  The allegations first arose in a whistleblower lawsuit by HCA employee Kelly Oxendine under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblower will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $400,000 from the government’s recovery.  DOJ(SC)				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Bundling and Unbundling, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Hospital Fraud, 
													  Laboratory and IDTF, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 13, 2015

				 French power and transportation company Alstom S.A. was sentenced to pay a $772 million fine for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) through its payment of millions of dollars in secret bribes to government officials across the globe.  According to the company’s own admissions, Alstom paid bribes to government officials and falsified books and records in connection with power, grid and transportation projects for state-owned entities around the world, including in Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Bahamas and Taiwan.  Alstom concealed the bribes by retaining consultants purportedly to provide consulting services but that actually served as conduits for the illegal payments.  In total, Alstom paid more than $75 million in bribes to secure more than $4 billion in projects around the world, with a profit to the company of approximately $300 million.  Whistleblower Insider				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCPA, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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