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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.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
October 2, 2014

				 Robbins & Myers Belgium S.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Robbins & Myers Inc., agreed to pay $1 million for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Administration Regulations. Specifically, the company caused four illegal exports relating to oil extraction equipment to a customer operating oil fields in Syria. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Trade Agreements, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 2, 2014

				 Leonard Austin pleaded guilty for his role in a multi-million dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme. According to his plea agreement, Austin and his co-conspirators submitted $12 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare through three purported health clinics, Cornerstone Health Specialists, Summit Health Specialists P.L. and Coastal Health Specialists LLC, all located in Florida. These fraudulent claims included claims resulting from illegal kickback arrangements and claims for radiology, audiology, neurology, and cardiology services that were never rendered. Austin admitted that he and his co-conspirators attempted to conceal the funds by transferring funds through bank accounts for the clinics and Austin’s shell company, BONB LLC, aka BioScan, and other entities. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 1, 2014

				 Robert Lustyik, a 24-year veteran of the FBI, and his childhood friend Johannes Thaler, pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery scheme to obstruct a grand jury investigation in exchange for the promise of cash and multimillion dollar business contracts offered by a businessman under investigation. Specifically, Lustyik and Thaler admitted that from October 2011 to September 2012, Lustyik, while employed as an FBI counterintelligence special agent, and Thaler conspired to use Lustyik’s official position to obstruct a criminal investigation into Michael Taylor, a businessman who owned and operated American International Security Corporation and was under investigation for paying kickbacks to obtain a series of contracts from the Department of Defense worth approximately $54 million. Taylor promised Lustyik and Thaler that in exchange for their help, he would provide them cash and multimillion dollar business contracts. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
October 1, 2014

				 A federal jury in Detroit convicted Felicar Williams, the operator of Haven Adult Day Care Center LLC, and Abdul Malik Al-Jumail and his daughter Jamella Al-Jumail, owners of a network of home health care companies, for their participation in a $29 million Medicare fraud scheme. According to evidence presented at trial, at Williams’s direction, Haven billed Medicare for sophisticated mental health services purportedly provided by other, unlicensed staff members. And the Jumails’ companies — including ABC Home Care Inc., Associates in Home Care Inc., Accessible Home Care Inc., Swift Home Care LLC, and Be Well Home Care LLC — billed Medicare for home health services that were not needed or not provided. Abdul Malik Al-Jumail also paid kickbacks to Williams to obtain billing information about patients at Haven. He then used the information to bill Medicare for home health care services that were never provided. DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 29, 2014

				 Japanese auto parts maker Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd.agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $26 million criminal fine for its role in conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids for automotive hoses, airbags and steering wheels sold to automobile manufacturers. Specifically, Toyoda Gosei conspired to fix the prices of certain automotive hoses sold to Toyota Motor Corp. and certain of its subsidiaries, affiliates and suppliers in the US; and conspired to fix the prices of automotive airbags and steering wheels sold to Toyota and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and certain of its subsidiaries, affiliates and suppliers in the US. To date, 43 individuals have been charged in the government’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. Twenty-nine companies, including Toyoda Gosei, have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty and have agreed to pay a total of nearly $2.4 billion in fines. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 26, 2014

				 Detroit-area physician Dr. Vicha Janviriya pleaded guilty for making fraudulent referrals for home health care in a $1.3 million Medicare fraud scheme. He admitted that he falsified medical documentation which would be used to support false claims to Medicare for services that were never rendered or not medically necessary, or where the Medicare beneficiary referrals were obtained through the payment of kickbacks. DOJ				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 26, 2014

				 Japanese ocean shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K-Line) agreed to plead guilty and pay a $67.7 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids of international ocean shipping services for roll-on, roll-off cargo, such as cars and trucks, to and from the US. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 25, 2014

				 Felix Maduka, owner of a home health services company Joystar Home Health Services, was sentenced to serve five years in prison for his leading role in a conspiracy to structure over $1.8 million in bank withdrawals to conceal a $4.5 million healthcare fraud scheme. On April 16, 2014, Maduka pleaded guilty to the charges along with his wife, Joystar’s Director of Nursing Stella Maduka. They engaged in this structuring scheme to conceal the monies used to pay illegal kickbacks to recruiters in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to Joystar and to doctors for authorizing home health services that were not medically necessary nor provided. They also fabricated patient records to support the fraudulent Medicare billing. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 22, 2014

				 Akinola Afolabi, former owner of Long Beach, California medical supply company Emmanuel Medical Supply was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to provide unnecessary power wheelchairs to Medicare patients, resulting in $2.6 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medical Devices and DME, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 19, 2014

				 Stewart and Michael Parnell , two former officials of the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), were convicted of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, and the introduction of misbranded food into interstate commerce in connection with the unlawful sale of salmonella-tainted peanuts and peanut products. Expert evidence at trial showed that tainted food led to an outbreak in 2009 with more than 700 reported cases of salmonella poisoning which translates into more than 22,000 total cases. The government presented evidence the Parnells defrauded PCA customers and jeopardized the quality and purity of their peanut products. Specifically, the government presented evidence that defendants misled customers and the FDA about the presence of salmonella in their products. DOJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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