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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.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
March 18, 2015

				 Gilbane Building Company agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve allegations that W.G. Mills Incorporated (which Gilbane merged with in November 2010) violated the False Claims Act by creating a front company, Veterans Constructors Incorporated (VCI), in order to be awarded a Coast Guard contract that was designated for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses.  VCI agreed to pay $50,000 plus five annual contingency payments equal to one percent of VCI’s total annual revenues to resolve the same allegations.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Government Procurement Fraud, 
													  Set-Asides and Preferences, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 18, 2015

				 Paige Okpalobi, the owner and operator of a New Orleans-based medical clinic and her accountant Christopher White pleaded guilty for their roles in a $50 million Medicare fraud scheme, which involved fraudulently billing Medicare for home health care services not needed or provided.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 16, 2015

				 The DOJ and New York State announced a settlement with Coach USA Inc.,City Sights LLC and their joint venture, Twin America LLC, to remedy competitive concerns in the New York City hop-on, hop-off bus tour market.  The settlement requires the defendants to relinquish all of City Sights’ Manhattan bus stop authorizations and disgorge $7.5 million in ill-gotten profits that the defendants obtained by operating Twin America in violation of the antitrust laws.  DOJ

March				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 16, 2015

				 Los Angeles pharmacist Rouzbeh Javaherian pleaded guilty to defrauding the Medicare Part D program through his pharmacy called Emoonah Inc. (d/b/a Westaid Pharmacy and Medical Supply).  Specifically, he paid illegal cash kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries to induce them to submit their prescriptions to Westaid and he submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare Part D plan sponsors for prescriptions he did not actually fill.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Part D, 
													  Pharma Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 13, 2015

				 Mohammed Sadiq, the owner of two Detroit home health care companies, pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for $12.6 million in home health services that were not provided or were obtained through illegal kickbacks.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 12, 2105

				 California-based Plaza Bank agreed to pay $1.225 million for knowingly facilitating consumer fraud by permitting a third-party payment processor to make millions of dollars of unauthorized withdrawals from consumer bank accounts on behalf of fraudulent merchants.  DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 12, 2015

				 Germany-based Commerzbank AG and its US branch Commerzbank AG New York agreed to forfeit $563 million and pay a $79 million fine for violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Bank Secrecy Act relating to its funneling of millions of dollars through the US financial system on behalf of Iranian and Sudanese entities subject to US economic sanctions.  The bank also entered into settlement agreements with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the New York State Department of Financial Services for a combined regulatory payout of $1.45 billion.  Whistleblower Insider				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial Institution Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 12, 2015

				 Espar Inc., a seller of parking heaters for commercial vehicles, pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges.  DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 12, 2015

				 Miami-based lender Hencorp Becstone Capital L.C. agreed to pay $3.8 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it made false statements and claims to the Export-Import Bank of the United States in order to obtain loan guarantees.  According to the government, Ricardo Maza, a Peruvian-based former Hencorp business agent, created false documentation to obtain Ex-Im Bank guarantees on fictitious transactions on which no products were sold or exported, and that Maza then diverted the proceeds of the loans to himself and to his friends and business associates in Peru.  The allegations arose in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Genaro Benites Caballero, the former owner of one of the purported purchasers, and Patricia Doris Lee Dominguez, a former attorney for the purported purchaser, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  They will receive a whistleblower award of $608,000.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Financial and Investment Fraud, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
March 12, 2015

				 Huey P. Williams Jr., owner of Texas-based Hermann Medical Supply, was convicted for his role in a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme.  According to the evidence submitted at trial, Williams submitted claims to Medicare for durable medical equipment, including orthotic devices, which were medically unnecessary or never provided to the patients.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medical Billing Fraud, 
													  Medical Devices and DME, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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