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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.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
September 15, 2023

				 Navmar Applied Sciences Corp. has agreed to pay $4.4 million to resolve allegations of double billing and improperly shifting costs between contracts, in violation of Federal Acquisition Regulations and the False Claims Act.  While under a series of Navy contracts to manufacture, design, and test emerging intelligence technologies, the company double billed for the same costs on two separate contracts, and improperly shifted costs incurred under some contracts to other contracts.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Defense Contract Fraud, 
													  FCA Federal, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 13, 2023

				 Texas-based Oliver Street Dermatology Management LLC, which manages dermatology practices, surgical centers, and pathology labs across the country, has agreed to pay $8.9 million to resolve self-reported violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, and False Claims Act.  The company revealed in 2021 that some of its former senior managers had fraudulently increased the purchase price of 11 dermatology practices acquired between 2013 and 2018 in exchange for referrals.  Claims arising from those referrals were found to have been submitted to Medicare.  USAO NDTX				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Reporting to Government, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 12, 2023

				 J&J Korea Inc. has been ordered to pay nearly $9 million in criminal penalty and restitution after pleading guilty to rigging bids and committing fraud against the U.S. government.  J&J was found to have conspired with others in order to win most of the subcontracts being offered by the U.S. Department of Defense for the maintenance of military hospitals in South Korea.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Criminal Proceedings, 
													  Defense Contract Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
September 5, 2023

				 Verizon Business Network Services LLC has agreed to pay over $4 million in connection with its Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service (MTIPS), which provides federal agencies with secure connections to the internet.  The company self-disclosed that its MTIPS service failed to comply with General Services Administration (GSA) contracts because it didn’t satisfy required cybersecurity protocols.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Government Procurement Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
August 31, 2023

				 Watermark Retirement Communities LLC, which manages 79 retirement homes across the country, has agreed to pay $4.25 million to settle claims of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act.  According to a lawsuit launched by David Freeman, the former director of strategic growth for a nationwide home health agency (HHA), between 2014 and 2020, Watermark solicited and received kickbacks from the HHA in exchange for referrals of Medicare beneficiaries from 8 of its retirement facilities in 5 states, including Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, and Pennsylvania.  Watermark then caused false claims to be submitted in connection with those referrals.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  FCA Federal, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Home Health and Hospice, 
													  Medicare, 
													  Whistleblower Case, 
													  Whistleblower Rewards, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
August 31, 2023

				 Tadano Ltd., a Japanese company, and its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $40 million to resolve allegations of violating the Clean Air Act in connection with the sale and importation of nearly 300 diesel-engined cranes into the U.S. that failed to comply with federal emission standards.  In addition to the civil penalties, Tadano has agreed to contribute $3.2 million toward mitigating environmental harms caused by its cranes, including by replacing a diesel-engined tugboat with a cleaner tugboat near its factory in Texas.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
August 22, 2023

				 Reinaldo Vargas-Rodriguez, the former mayor of Humacao, Puerto Rico has been sentenced to over 3 years in prison for accepting bribes from two companies in exchange for awarding them municipal contracts.  According to DOJ, Vargas-Rodriguez accepted $27,000 in cash payments for awarding contracts for paving services and waste disposal.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Bribery and Bid-Rigging, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
August 22, 2023

				 Zeaborn Ship Management (Singapore) PTE. LTD., Chief Engineer Constancio Estuye, and Captain Alexander Parreno have pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $2 million in civil penalties for dumping over 7,500 gallons of unprocessed oily bilge water overboard their ship, the Star Maia, in 2022, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.  Additionally, the defendants admitted that during the same time period, they also burned garbage in barrels on board the ship’s deck and threw the burned barrels into the sea.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Environmental Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
August 21, 2023

				 To resolve criminal charges of colluding to fix prices, mainly on a cholesterol medicine called pravastatin, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. has agreed to pay a $225 million criminal penalty and donate $50 million in drugs to humanitarian organizations, while Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA has agreed to pay $30 million criminal penalty.  The drugs that Teva has been ordered to donate, clotrimazole and tobramycin, were also part of the price fixing scheme.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Pharma Fraud, 
													  Price Fixing, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
August 18, 2023

				 The owner and operator of Georgia-based LabSolutions LLC has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for submitting over $463 million in medically unnecessary genetic and other laboratory tests derived from illegal kickbacks.  Minal Patel allegedly paid kickbacks to telemarketing companies to talk Medicare beneficiaries into getting the tests, then paid kickbacks to telemedicine doctors who signed orders for the tests without ever speaking to beneficiaries to determine need.  As a result of these fraudulent actions, Medicare paid over $187 million in reimbursement, with Patel receiving over $21 million personally, between 2016 and 2019.  DOJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  Criminal Proceedings, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Laboratory and IDTF, 
													  Lack of Medical Necessity, 
													  Medicare, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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