1. Home
  2. Practices
  3. Whistleblower Representation
  4. Recent Government Enforcement
  5. State Enforcement Actions
Have a Claim?

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

1-212-350-2774 
								
			


								
						
			


								
			

	
Whistleblower Quiz

	
Would you blow the whistle?

 Take our Quiz


									
	
						

		

			
			

				

					
State Enforcement Actions

					
Each state enforces its laws and defends its interests, and states often work with the federal government in investigating and prosecuting corporate frauds.  Whistleblowers with knowledge of fraud or wrongful conduct that involves state or local funds or programs may be able to bring a claim under a state or local False Claims Act, and may be eligible to receive a monetary reward and protection against retaliation.


Below are summaries of recent settlements, successful prosecutions, and enforcement actions by states. If you believe you have information about fraud which could give rise to a claim under a State or Local False Claims Act or other whistleblower reward provision, please contact us to speak with one of our experienced whistleblower attorneys.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
May 26, 2016

				 New Hampshire Transmission (NHT) will refund New England ratepayers $6.8 million to settle allegations that the company improperly included millions of dollars of development costs in its transmission rates. The settlement resolves a complaint the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in April 2015.  The AG’s office argued that New England consumers should not foot the bill for the $9.9 million that NHT spent to develop its proposed SeaLink transmission project, a project which was not selected to be built by ISO-New England, the Regional Transmission Operator. As a result of the settlement, NHT will refund $6.5 million of the costs it billed to ratepayers in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and has agreed to forgo billing customers for costs incurred for the project in 2015, which is equal to $305,000. MA				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 25, 2016

				 Florida and the Federal Trade Commission announced two joint actions against alleged unlawful debt relief operations targeting student loan holders. In the first action, the enforcement agencies filed a joint action against Chasity Valdes and her companies, Consumer Assistance LLC, Consumer Assistance Project Corp. and Palermo Global LLC, alleging that the defendants took illegal up-front fees in return for their purported debt relief and credit repair services that they falsely claimed would reduce consumers’ student loan debt and repair the consumers’ credit. According to the complaint, the defendants led consumers to believe they qualified for government student loan forgiveness programs that would result in a reduction of their student loan debt, even though the programs have strict requirements that the consumers were likely not to meet. The complaint also alleges defendants misrepresented that they would audit consumers’ loans for errors that would invalidate the loans or reduce the balance, when in reality, at most, defendants merely sent worthless form dispute letters. FL				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Education Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 24, 2016

				 California filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for false advertising and deceptive marketing of its surgical mesh products for women.  The complaint alleges that J&J neglected to inform both patients and doctors of possible severe complications and misrepresented the frequency and severity of risks. California co-led a multistate investigation, including 46 states and the District of Columbia, into J&J’s surgical mesh products for women, and is seeking injunctive relief and monetary penalties to ensure that J&J stops its deceptive practices. The suit further claims that J&J knew about potential risks and side effects prior to the launch of their mesh products, yet omitted that information from educational and marketing materials provided to doctors and patients. CA, WA				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Medical Devices and DME, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 20, 2016

				 New Jersey announced that a chiropractor from Morris County pleaded guilty to taking more than $250,000 in illegal kickbacks from doctors and other individuals in return for referring patients to their practices, clinics and medical imaging centers. Dr. Alexander Dimeo, 61, of Budd Lake, N.J., and Fort Myers, Fla., pleaded guilty to two separate accusations before Superior Court Judge Michael A. Toto in Middlesex County.  Dimeo retired last year, but he formerly operated Passaic Chiropractic & Therapy Center PC in Passaic.  In pleading guilty, Dimeo admitted that between 2009 and 2015, he received approximately $254,500 in illegal kickbacks for patient referrals.  NJ				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Anti-Kickback and Stark, 
													  Chiropractic, 
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 20, 2016

				 New York announced that New Paltz-based construction company Lalo Drywall, Inc. and its owner Sergio Raymundo, 28, were sentenced in Manhattan Supreme Court after a conviction related to wage theft for underpaying workers at a mixed-use, commercial, and low-income residential project in Harlem. Raymundo and Lalo Drywall, Inc. admitted to cheating eight workers at a Harlem housing project out of approximately $800,000 in wages during a 17-month period.  The defendants attempted to conceal the underpayments by signing false checks drawn on the company’s account indicating that employees on the job were paid properly under the law. However, those checks were never actually given to the workers. NY				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 18, 2016

				 New Jersey announced that a former Essex County insurance agent has been sentenced to six years in prison for submitting hundreds of fraudulent life insurance applications to reap more than $1 million in commission and bonuses from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). Stanley Jerome, 33, of Orange, pleaded guilty to second-degree money laundering and insurance fraud in March. Jerome admitted to paying individuals for their identifying information which he then used to submit bogus life insurance applications to MassMutual to reap sales commissions and bonuses totaling $1,132,675. Because most of the applications were for low-income individuals, Jerome provided false employment, salary, and net worth information on the applications. NJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 17, 2016

				 New Jersey announced that a lawyer who practiced in Jersey City has been indicted by a state grand jury on charges that he stole more than $1.5 million from five clients over a period of more than 10 years. From October 2004 through May 2015, Joseph J. Talafous Jr. allegedly stole approximately $1,528,022 from clients, and laundered most of the funds through his attorney trust account and/or attorney business account. Among other allegations, Talafous is accused of stealing approximately $402,418 from a trust set up for the benefit of a young boy in 2005 with funds from a wrongful death suit stemming from the death of his father. The father died in 2001 in a workplace accident when the child, a West New York resident, was still an infant. NJ				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 13, 2016

				 A Somerville-based ambulance services provider has been sued for allegedly overbilling the state’s Medicaid program (MassHealth) for more than $600,000 in ambulance services that reflected a higher level of care than was actually provided. The complaint against Cataldo Ambulance Service, Inc. (Cataldo), filed on Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that from 2005 to November 2015, Cataldo billed MassHealth for Emergency Advanced Life Support (ALS) services when, in fact, the patient’s condition at the scene only required, and the patient only received, Emergency Basic Life Support (BLS) services. Cataldo provides a variety of transportation services, including emergency ambulance services, throughout the Greater Boston area. According to the complaint, Cataldo’s inappropriate billing practices persisted despite being notified that, in many instances, the patient’s condition and the services rendered were insufficient to justify billing at an ALS level. MA				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Healthcare Fraud, 
													  Medicaid, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 13, 2016

				 Georgia announced that Family Dermatology, P.C. has entered into a settlement with the State of Georgia in response to allegations that it violated the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act by attempting to collect debts from consumers without sufficiently confirming that the debts were valid and/or that the billing statements were accurate. A number of consumers claimed they had been billed for services for which they had already paid, while others alleged that the company failed to timely submit claims to consumers’ insurance providers, resulting in the insurance providers denying the claims and consumers then being charged.  When consumers tried to contact Family Dermatology to question the bills, most claimed they were unable to get through to customer service. Family Dermatology, P.C., while denying any wrongdoing, has entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance which requires it to pay restitution to consumers who, due to the company’s billing practices, paid alleged debts they did not owe. The company must also cease collecting on 42,301 customer accounts for services provided prior to April 1, 2013, totaling $8,892,215, and pay $5,000 in fees and penalties. GA				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
May 11, 2016

				 Pennsylvania announced the arrest of a Dauphin County man charged in connection with the alleged theft of $5.7 million from clients of his former payroll service company.  According to a criminal complaint, William Simon Sullivan Jr., 42, was the owner and operator of a company known as Net Pay Solutions, Inc., a payroll service that is no longer in business. Prior to a bankruptcy filing, the company at one time handled payroll processing, as well as the payment of federal, state and local taxes for more than 200 businesses located throughout the country. It is alleged that Sullivan, as the business’ chief executive, used funds that were allocated solely to pay his clients’ taxes to instead pay his company’s operating expenses and financial obligations. He also is accused of using client funds to cover personal spending on vehicles, travel and home renovations, investigators allege in a criminal complaint. PA				 			
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
1
…
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
…
78
								

						

					

												
		
 
	
 

 



	


	

		

			

								
							
Learn about Whistleblower Rewards Programs
			
	
		

		
	
			

									

													False Claims Act					  							State & Local False Claims Acts					  							SEC Program					  							CFTC Program					  							IRS Program					  					

								See More			
	
		

	
		

	




	


	

		

			

				

					

						
Newsletter

						
Subscribe to receive email updates from the Constantine Cannon blogs

					
	
				
	
			
	
			
	
				
Sign up for: