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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.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
January 16, 2015

				 A federal court in California issued an injunction shutting down Health One Pharmaceuticals Inc., a manufacturer of dietary supplements and unapproved new drugs. The firm and its president, Richard S. Yeh, agreed to shut down and resolve the lawsuit as part of a consent decree. The government alleged, among other things, the defendants failed to meet current good manufacturing practices for dietary supplements by failing to conduct appropriate testing and misbranding the supplements because their labels did not include all the information required by federal law. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  CGMP Violation, 
													  Off-Label and Unapproved Use, 
													  Pharma Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 15, 2015

				 US Navy contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia and its owner and CEO Leonard Glenn Francis pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud charges, admitting to a decade-long conspiracy involving “scores” of US Navy officials, tens of millions of dollars in fraud and millions of dollars in bribes and gifts. As part of his guilty plea, Francis admitted to defrauding the Navy of tens of millions of dollars by routinely overbilling for various goods and services, including fuel, tugboat services and sewage disposal. Francis and GDMA agreed to forfeit $35M and pay full restitution to the Navy. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Bribery and Bid-Rigging, 
													  Defense Contract Fraud, 
													  Falsifying Invoices, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 15, 2015

				 Mary Mooney, former Executive Director of adoption agency International Adoption Guides Inc., pleaded guilty to making false statements to the Council on Accreditation with respect to IAG’s accreditation. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 14, 2015

				 Michigan physician Paula Williamson was sentenced to 15 months in prison and to pay more than $1M in restitution for her role in a $2.1M home health care fraud scheme involving Michigan-based home health care agency AMB Healthcare Inc. According to her plea agreement, Williamson conspired with others to commit health care fraud by referring Medicare beneficiaries for home health care services that were medically unnecessary and never provided. She also falsified documents used to support the false Medicare claims. DOJ				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 14, 2015

				 Florida-based auction house Elite Estate Buyers Inc. (doing business as Elite Decorative Arts) and the company’s president and owner, Christopher Hayes, pleaded guilty to an illegal wildlife trafficking and smuggling conspiracy in which the auction house sold rhinoceros horns and objects made from rhino horn, elephant ivory and coral that were smuggled from the US to China. Hayes and Elite admitted to helping smugglers traffic in endangered and protected species and falsifying records and shipping documents to avoid the scrutiny of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Customs and Border Protection. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
													  Wildlife Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 13, 2015

				 The DOJ and EPA announced a proposed settlement with Pechiney Plastic Packaging Inc. (Pechiney), Albéa Americas Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Citigroup Inc., and Rexam Beverage Can Company regarding the cleanup of the Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site in New Jersey. Under the proposed settlement, Pechiney will have primary responsibility for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater at the site. In addition, EPA will receive approximately $29.5M for certain past costs. Pechiney will also perform current and future cleanup work estimated to cost $62.5M. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 9, 2015

				 Felix Gonzalez, owner of Miami-based home health care company AA Advanced Care Inc. pleaded guilty in connection with a $32 million Medicare fraud scheme. Specifically, Gonzalez admitted he and his co-conspirators operated AA Advanced for the purpose of billing Medicare for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services not medically necessary or not provided at all. He also admitted he paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters in exchange for patient referrals, prescriptions, plans of care (POCs) and certifications for medically unnecessary therapy and home health services. DOJ				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 9, 2015

				 Global pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo Inc. agreed to pay $39 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce physicians to prescribe Daiichi drugs, including Azor, Benicar, Tribenzor and Welchol. According to the government, Daiichi paid physicians improper kickbacks in the form of speaker fees as part of Daiichi’s Physician Organization and Discussion programs which were often just lavish dinners with the speaking physicians’ own medical group or staff. The charges originated with a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Daiichi sales representative Kathy Fragoules under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. She will receive a whistleblower award of $6.1 million. DOJ				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 8, 2015

				 Former International Program Director of adoption agency International Adoption Guides Inc. James Harding pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the US by submitting fraudulent documents to the State Department for adoptions from Ethiopia and paying bribes to foreign officials. Harding admitted he and others submitted false documentation, including contracts of adoption signed by orphanages that could not properly give the children up for adoption because, for example, the child in question was never cared for or never resided at the orphanage. He also admitted to bribing two Ethiopian officials to help with the fraudulent adoptions. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 7, 2015

				 Randy Jones, a former corrosion coordinator for Shell Pipeline Company L.P.pleaded guilty to failing to conduct bi-monthly voltage readings and an annual survey of a pipeline used to transport jet fuel in violation of the Pipeline Safety Act (PSA) and making a false statement to the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). The violations were in connection with a pipeline owned by Shell that delivered commercial aviation jet fuel to General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In January 2012 a hole was discovered in the pipeline at Mitchell Airport releasing approximately 9,000 gallons of jet fuel and costing approximately $19.3 million in cleanup costs. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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