Catch of the Week: ResMed Pays $37.5 Million to Settle Five Qui Tam Cases Alleging Kickbacks

Sleep apnea equipment manufacturer ResMed agreed to pay $37.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by providing unlawful remuneration to durable medical equipment distributors, sleep labs, doctors, and other healthcare providers.  It seems that ResMed’s kickback schemes struck many people as wrong: the settlement resolves five separate cases brought by whistleblowers, who will collectively receive $6.2 million of the settlement paid by...

Catch of the Week – Mallinckrodt Pays for Kickbacks on Acthar; Investigation into Copayment Subsidies Continues

This week, the Department of Justice announced that pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt ARD LLC had agreed to pay over $15 million to resolve allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to physicians to induce them to prescribe Acthar. AKS Allegations Two whistleblower lawsuits brought under the False Claims Act against Mallinckrodt alleged that from 2009 to 2013, the pharma company, then known as Questcor, entertained doctors with lavish dinners and other entertainment...

Mid Dakota Clinic - Healthcare Fraud/Kickbacks ($5.45 million)

Constantine Cannon represented a whistleblower in a False Claim Act alleging Mid Dakota Clinic engaged in a kickback scheme with its wholly owned ambulatory surgery center to elicit improper patient referrals.  In November 2019, the medical clinic agreed to pay $4.15 million to settle the matter.  Our client received a whistleblower award of 25% of the government's recovery.  Read more -- AP, Becker's, CC.

Whistleblowers Needed to Stop Secret Kickbacks, Bribes, Overcharging, and False Costs in E-Rate, Lifeline, Connect America, and Rural Healthcare programs

The FCC disburses billions of dollars every year for its massive Universal Service Fund (USF) and its laudable mission to promote telephone and internet access to all U.S. persons regardless of income and location. This massive pot of government money attracts a commensurate measure of opportunists seeking to defraud these well-meaning programs. What is the Universal Service Fund? The Universal Service Fund comprises four main programs. Telecommunications companies fund the...

Question of the Week — Are device manufacturer's services valuable education or unlawful kickbacks?

Earlier this week, medical-device manufacturer Medtronic's Covidien business unit agreed to pay approximately $20 million to resolve kickback allegations related to the sale of its ClosureFast radiofrequency ablation catheters.  ClosureFAST catheters are used in procedures to treat venous-reflux disease, whose symptoms include varicose veins. The settlement resolves claims that Covidien improperly provided doctors free or discounted marketing services and practice-development support to sway them to buy ClosureFAST catheters. The support...

Sharp HealthCare - Healthcare Fraud/Kickbacks (Undisclosed)

Constantine Cannon represented a whistleblower in a False Claims Act case alleging Sharp HealthCare Center for Research, Sharp’s clinical-trial research arm, paid kickbacks to entice prospective trial sponsors to host clinical trials at Sharp.  In November 2019, the company agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to settle the matter.  Our client received a whistleblower award of an undisclosed portion of the government's recovery.  Read more -- CC.

Catch of the Week — Ambulance Company and Clients Busted for Illegal Kickbacks and Cozy Financial Relationships

Here’s a question you shouldn’t have to ask when you’re in an ambulance: Did a bribe put me here? Our Catch of the Week goes to a $21 million settlement of a case against several ambulance-industry companies for allegedly paying kickbacks to secure lucrative exclusive contracts. Paramedics Plus, the East Texas Medical Center, the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA), and EMSA’s president and CEO Herbert Stephen Williamson were accused in...

US Obtains $114M FCA Judgement in Kickbacks Case

On May 23, the US District Court in South Carolina issued judgment for the US for roughly $114M against three individuals, LaTonya Mallory, Floyd Dent III, and Robert Johnson, for violating the FCA by paying kickbacks to doctors in exchange for patient referrals. The defendants also caused two labs to bill Medicare, TRICARE, and Medicaid for medically unnecessary tests. The judgment follows a January jury verdict that determined liability. Broadly...

Pfizer Agrees to Pay $23.85 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Liability for Paying Kickbacks

The Department of Justice today announced that Pfizer agreed to pay $23.85 million to resolve allegations that it used a foundation as a conduit to pay the copays of Medicare patients taking three Pfizer drugs. Medicare Part B or D beneficiaries typically make a partial payment when obtaining prescription drugs in the form of a copay, coinsurance, or deductible. Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, pharmaceutical companies are prohibited from paying patients’...

Radiation Therapy Company Agrees to Pay Up to $11.5 Million to Settle Allegations of False Claims and Kickbacks

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team The DOJ announced a settlement with Texas-based radiation therapy center SightLine Health LLC (“SightLine”) and Oncology Network Holdings LLC, which acquired SightLine in 2011, for $11.5 million to settle allegations in a False Claims Act complaint that Sightline submitted Medicare claims that violated the Anti-Kickback Statute.  According to DOJ, the allegations centered on SightLine paying physicians a share of profits in exchange for referrals...