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Whistleblower Successes

Whistleblower reward laws and whistleblower reward programs enable qualifying whistleblowers to recover anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of the government’s recovery. These whistleblower reward laws include: the federal False Claims Act; State False Claims Acts; the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program; the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program; and, the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Program. We have collected summaries of recent successes in cases brought by whistleblowers, and you can read them below. You can also review our annual Top Ten Lists.

Members of the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Lawyer Team have served as lead counsel on cases that have recovered roughly $1.3 billion for the government and hundreds of millions in whistleblower awards. You can read more about the results we have achieved for our clients in Our Successes.

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.

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

August 1, 2023

A now defunct clinical laboratory in Texas, BestCare Laboratory Services LLC, and its owner, Karim Maghareh, have agreed to pay another $5.7 million on top of nearly $800,000 already paid to the government to resolve an outstanding obligation under a 2018 judgment for violating the False Claims Act.  The underlying lawsuit, filed in 2008 by whistleblower Richard Drummond, alleged that BestCare billed Medicare for travel by lab technicians that did not reflect the actual mileage traveled.  DOJ

July 31, 2023

Martin’s Point Health Care Inc. in Maine has agreed to pay almost $22.5 million to resolve a lawsuit by a former manager in its Risk Adjustment Operations group, which alleged the health plan administrator defrauded Medicare over a three year period.  The former manager, Alicia Wilbur, alleged that Martin’s Point reviewed charts for their Medicare Advantage beneficiaries to identify additional diagnosis codes, then submitted those codes in claims to Medicare in order to increase reimbursements even though they were not properly supported by patient medical records.  For blowing the whistle on this misconduct, Wilbur will receive a $3.8 million award.  DOJ

July 21, 2023

In one of the largest procurement fraud settlements in history, defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton has agreed to pay almost $377.5 million to resolve claims of violating the False Claims Act.  According to former employee Sarah Feinberg—who filed a qui tam suit in 2016, and who will receive a nearly $70 million share of the settlement—Booz Allen improperly billed the government for indirect charges that should instead have been billed to commercial and international contracts.  USAO DC

July 14, 2023

Electronic health record technology vendor NextGen Healthcare Inc. has agreed to pay $31 million to resolve a whistleblower’s allegations that it misrepresented the capabilities of certain software and improperly induced users to recommend the software.  According to two users of the NextGen’s software, Toby Markowitz and Elizabeth Ringgold, the company allegedly violated the False Claims Act by concealing from a certifying entity that its technology lacked critical but required functions. Additionally, the company allegedly violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by giving credits worth up to $10,000 to customers whose recommendation of NextGen’s EHR software led to a new sale.  For launching a successful qui tam case, the whistleblowers will receive and share a $5.6 million share of the recovery.  DOJ

May 25, 2023

Vascular surgeon Vasso Godiali of Michigan has been ordered to pay $19.5 million in restitution and serve over 6 years in prison to resolve criminal allegations of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan. Godiali also agreed to pay up to $43.4 million to resolve civil allegations of violating the False Claims Act.  Although Godiali allegedly began submitting false claims in 2009, his misconduct did not come to light until a 2015 qui tam suit by Innovative Solutions Consulting LLC, which alleged Godiali billed government programs for arterial thrombectomies and stent placements that were not medically necessary and not actually performed.  Additionally, Godiali allegedly falsified medical records to justify the procedures, and improperly used a modifier code to increase his reimbursements. DOJ

May 11, 2023

GCI Communications Corp. has agreed to pay $40 million to resolve a whistleblower case by its former Director of Business Administration, which alleged the company violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with competitive bidding regulations for the FCC’s Rural Health Care Program.  In order to participate in the program—which awards $570 million in subsidies annually to bring critical telecommunications services to rural healthcare providers—GCI was subject to regulations governing the prices it could charge these providers.  However, GCI charged inflated rates to a provider in Alaska, thereby receiving higher subsidy payments than it was entitled to.  For launching a successful enforcement action, whistleblower Robert Taylor will receive a $6.4 million share of the settlement.  DOJ

April 20, 2023

Dr. Paul S. Koch, Koch Eye Associates, and Claris Vision violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to optometrists who referred their patients to Koch and his companies for laser-assisted cataract surgery. Over a five-year period, from 2013 to 2017, Koch and his practices submitted false claims to Medicare based on those kickbacks. Koch will pay nearly $1.2 million to resolve the qui tam whistleblowers’ claims, and the two whistleblowers will receive $256,534.84 from the settlement. USAO RI
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