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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 3, 2014

				 South Korea’s top two automakers Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation agreed to pay a $100 million civil penalty to settle charges they violated the Clean Air Act by selling more than one million vehicles that will emit roughly 4.75 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in excess of what they certified to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is the largest civil penalty in Clean Air Act history.Whistleblower Insider				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 31, 2014

				 Tokyo-based automotive parts manufacturer Hitachi Metals Ltd. pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a $1.25M criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for automotive brake hoses sold to Toyota Motor Corporation and certain of its affiliates and suppliers in the US and elsewhere. The charges against Hitachi are the latest in the department’s on-going investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry. To date, 44 individuals have been charged and including Hitachi, 30 companies have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty and have agreed to pay a total of nearly $2.4B in fines. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 30, 2014

				 San Francisco based hospital system Dignity Health (formerly known as Catholic Healthcare West) agreed to pay $37M to settle False Claim Act charges that 13 of its hospitals in California, Nevada and Arizona submitted false claims to Medicare and TRICARE by admitting patients for inpatient services who could have been treated on a less costly, outpatient basis. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Kathleen Hawkins, a former employee of Dignity. She will receive a whistleblower award of $6.25M. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Hospital Fraud, 
													  Other Government Health Programs, 
													  Upcoding, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 29, 2014

				 Jigar Patel, a physical therapist assistant was sentenced to serve 50 months in prison and pay $1.9M in restitution for his role in a $14.9M scheme through which he and others billed Medicare for home health services they never provided, and provided beneficiaries with prescriptions for unnecessary painkillers and other narcotics to induce them to sign false medical documents to support the fraudulent billings. Patel and his co-conspirators carried out their scheme using five home health care companies – Physicians Choice Home Health Care LLC, Quantum Home Care Inc., First Care Home Health Care LLC, Moonlite Home Care Inc., and Phoenix Visiting Physicians. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 29, 2014

				 North Florida Shipyards and its president, Matt Self, agreed to pay $1M to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by creating a front company, Ind-Mar Services Inc., to improperly secure Coast Guard contracts that were designated for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs). The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Robert Hallstein and Earle Yerger under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. They will receive a whistleblower award of $180,000.DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Defense Contract Fraud, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Set-Asides and Preferences, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 29, 2014

				 Medical device maker EBI LLC, doing business as Biomet Spine and Bone Healing Technologies and Biomet Inc., agreed to pay $6M to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce use of its bone growth stimulators, which are used to repair fractures that are slow to heal. Specifically, the government alleged that from 2001 to 2008 EBI paid staff at doctors’ offices (through personal service agreements) to influence doctors to order its bone growth stimulators. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former EBI product manager Yu Yue under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, who will receive an undisclosed whistleblower award. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Medical Devices and DME, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 28, 2014

				 Columbia University agreed to pay $9M to settle allegations it defrauded the government of grant funding for AIDS and HIV related work. Specifically, the government charged that as the grant administrator for ICAP (formerly known as International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs), Columbia was required but failed to verify for nearly 200 ICAP employees that they performed the work for which they received grant funding. This resulted in Columbia obtaining grants for work that was not actually performed on the project being funded. Whistleblower Insider				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Grant and Research Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 27, 2014

				 Laura Leyva, the former president and owner of rehabilitation therapy services clinic American Rehab of Kissimmee Inc., pleaded guilty to health care fraud and money laundering. Specifically, from June 2007 through November 2009, American Rehab submitted approximately $2.5M in false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement to Medicare seeking payment for rehabilitation therapy services that were not legitimately prescribed and not provided. Co-conspirators falsified and forged medical records used to give the appearance that therapy services were rendered when, in fact, they were not. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 24, 2014

				 Boulder, Colorado-based antenna and radio system company First RF Corporation agreed to pay $10M to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated claims for electronic warfare antennas sold to the US Army to combat Improvised Explosive Devices. Specifically, the government alleged that First RF knowingly submitted false data to the Army that misrepresented First RF’s cost to manufacture the antennas, and thereby inflated the price for the antennas and the payments First RF received for them. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Contract Non-Compliance, 
													  Defense Contract Fraud, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Pricing Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 22, 2014

				 Tayyab Aziz, founder of three Detroit-area home health agencies Prestige Home Health Services Inc., Royal Home Health Care Inc., and Platinum Home Health Services Inc. pleaded guilty for his role in a $22M home health care fraud scheme. Specifically, Aziz admitted he and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary or never performed. They also submitted claims for services purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries who were recruited through illegal kickbacks paid to the patients and recruiters. DOJ				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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